A Thief and a Liar
by attackonhunter
Summary: Jun was just a thief, struggling to survive off what little she could steal until she targeted the wrong, or rather, the right person: Jiraiya. Soon after Jun finds herself a ninja of the Leaf Village and surrounded by many potential friends and enemies. Who will these people be? And will they discover the past Jun is so desperately trying to hide? Rated M for violence and language
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Just a Thief**

I was in a particularly foul mood. I lost my mark, and therefore I was not eating, nor sleeping anywhere comfortable for the night. Damn. He should have been an easy target. He was so big, how in the hell did I lose sight of him?

I crouched down and looked at the hard, dirty ground in contempt. A piece of my long, white hair fell free from under my hat and my hood. I twisted the piece briefly between my fingers before I hastily fixed it back in its place. I picked at my tattered sweater. It seemed I also needed new clothing. If they got too much wear and tear I would stand out in a crowd, and I definitely did not need that.

I stood quickly and jumped back into a crouch on the nearest roof. Maybe I could still find him?

I concentrated, narrowing my eyes and gazed into the crowded street. A loud laugh made me almost fall off the roof. I lost my balance and my face slammed into the tiles. I stayed there for a while, feeling utterly defeated, before I realized I knew that laugh. _My target. _I picked myself up and rubbed my sore face, not surprised at how dirty it was… dear god I probably smelled pretty bad too. There was no way he was getting away from me again.

I was atop the building he was in. Careful not to be seen, or fall off the edge, I leaned down and peeked through a window into the building.

I whispered a curse. He was drunk, and surrounded by ladies. I watched as he downed another drink. He would be far easier to deal with while drunk; however, I could visibly see how much his money pouch had shrunk. Still, he had more than most of my targets did. Though, the time I spent on tracking him and waiting for an opportunity was no longer worth it. Like hell if I was going to let him go now. I ground my teeth and prayed he would spend no more.

It seemed that something had heard me and he soon left, heading down a back alley. I eagerly followed on the rooftop, barely containing my excitement. I pulled out a fishhook and a thin fishing line, clasping the end of it tightly in my left hand, and spinning the hook in my right. Soon, very soon.

I tensed, narrowed my eyes and threw the hook.

It never reached its target.

I grunted as a large hand clasped around the back of my neck and turned me around to face terrifyingly piercing eyes. The hell! This fool was supposed to be drunk and yet he seemed nothing like it! He lifted me up further, trying to get a look at my face. I sent a swift kick towards his face. He dodged it, but I used his surprise to flip backwards onto my feet and away from him.

"You move pretty quick, boy. Tell me, how long have you been following me?" He said.

I didn't answer and instead pulled out my blade. It was one of my few treasures. A beautiful short sword I had with me for as long as I could remember.

"Oho. Not much for talking are you? Fine then, do your worst." He said with a grin.

I shifted my weight and glared at him. He didn't even have a block up. Was he that full of himself? He would regret underestimating me.

I shot forward, aiming my sword for his face and at the same time twisting with my free hand towards his money bag. His eyes widened, blocking the blade with a kunai and knocked me back by slamming his knee into my stomach.

Shit. It was me who underestimated him.

"Just a thief, huh? That blade would never have reached me, even if I did nothing, but I suppose you know that?" He crouched down as I coughed on the ground. "Now that I look at you, you're pretty young. What is a kid like you doing on the street?"

I glared up him and coughed out, "Surviving."

"Hn. Is that so? What would you say to actually living?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note:** Thank you to the people who have already followed! I know I'm uploading the second chapter rather fast; I also plan to have the third one done by tomorrow and it should be longer than the first two. I take any kind of suggestions and I really want to improve my writing skills, so I would appreciate any constructive criticism anyone has to offer. If you see any issues with the chapters please inform me and I will fix them a.s.a.p. This is my first fanfiction so wish me luck! :)

**Disclaimer:** The only character I have created so far is Jun. All others belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I will keep everyone up to date on any other characters I create.

**Chapter 2: Me? A ninja?**

So this was the Leaf Village? I had to say it was damn impressive. The massive stone faces staring down at me from the cliff were quite unsettling though.

I pulled at my new sweater, grateful for the fresh clothes. I couldn't understand why Jiraiya was so kind to me especially after I had just tried to mug him. When I asked him he said, "You're just a brat!" and laughed and walked away, leaving me rushing to catch up while trying to figure out how he could move so fast in those shoes of his.

I glanced about the village, and the mass of people scurrying around. With all of these people it would be so easy to just reach out and pick someone's pocket, just to disappear in the crowd…

Jiraiya gave me a scolding look, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. I shrunk back so I was behind him. I knew not to pull anything around him. He wouldn't hesitate smack me in the head. I glared at his back. What was he planning, taking me to a huge village like this?

He sensed me beginning to fidget and stopped.

"What do you say to becoming a ninja of this village?" He asked with a grin.

"What!?" I muttered, shocked. What the hell was he thinking? Me, a ninja? "Why?"

"I sense that you are a good person at heart… despite your less than legal habits. Besides, you already have many of the skills needed to become a ninja."

_Old man you have no idea._ I stayed quiet and let him finish.

"You said you wanted to _live_ right? How about the life of a ninja? Sure, it's far from normal. And it's dangerous. But, I have a feeling you survived in that type of environment for most of your life. So, what do you say? Will you pledge your loyalty to this village and become a ninja here?"

"Sure, why not, sounds like fun."

* * *

Jiraiya sent me to the Hokage with a scribbled note and a pat on the back. Honestly I expected him to be… scarier. Instead he was just an even older old man. He seemed shocked and said that he trusted Jiraiya's judgement. Apparently he would have a teacher give me a series of tests to decide where I needed to start with my training to catch up with the other students around my age, which was twelve. When he asked me my name I gave him my real one: Jun. I told him I had no family name.

When he was finally done his questions I was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep. The only reason he let me leave so early was because the chunnin exams were in progress and he had lots of paperwork to do. Unfortunately I didn't get to sleep, because I was immediately handed off my new teacher, Iruka, to determine my skills.

* * *

"Today I will be testing your taijutsu and ninjutsu. We will start with taijutsu. Get into your stance." Iruka shifted into a basic cover and crouched down slightly. I did the same, my left side forward.

Suddenly, he jumped forward, swinging with his right hand. I kept my eyes on his centre, refusing to be distracted by a large movement. Iruka swung up quickly with his left along my centre and I stepped to the side, blocking, while kneeing him in the thigh. His eyes widened as I hit the pressure point there and his leg buckled. I swung the edge of my palm to the back of his neck and stopped.

"It looks like you have no issues in the taijutsu." I grinned. "However," He said seriously, "You seem very confident in yourself and your abilities. Keep in mind you are not as strong as many others and you need to be careful if you run into an opponent more powerful than yourself."

"I know that." I snapped. I lost to Jiraiya with a similar move to the one I just used.

Iruka stood up with a grin. "Ninjutsu. Show me your best clone."

I smirked, performing a perfect shadow clone jutsu. "How is that?" I asked in unison with my clone.

"G-good." Iruka said. "You are dismissed – AH! Hang on! Here is the key to your apartment. And the address," He handed me a piece of folded paper. "The Hokage will fund your first two months here. Since you are already fit to become a genin, you will be expected to be available for missions immediately and will be expected to pay for any living expenses after that."

I began to walk away. "One more thing." I turned back briefly, "Be careful not to be overconfident Jun, it could seriously harm you in the future."

I ground my teeth together and walked away.

* * *

I finally found my apartment. The sun was already down. Well, at least I had a bed to sleep in tonight. It would have been nice to have been shown where it was and I did get lost more than enough times, but I was glad to be alone for a while and not have to keep up a conversation. I had enough of people today.

I opened the door. It was pretty basic. That was okay. I was used to not having any belongings. I was sure it would eventually turn into a home of sorts.

I made sure I locked the door and windows and closed the curtains.

I pulled my hood down and took off my tight-fitting hat which I used to hide my long hair. It would have been easier just to cut it, but I was far too attached. I shook it out and then peeled off my sweater. I glanced down at my chest. Damn. I would have to start binding it soon. Or… I suppose I wouldn't. I wasn't living on the street anymore, where it was far more dangerous to be a girl than a boy. Now that I was safer, I didn't have to put up the façade anymore. But… that thought made me uncomfortable. After all, I had been a boy for years.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note:**Sorry! I know I said this chapter would be longer, but it felt right to end it where it was. I will try to update again tomorrow, or maybe even tonight if I can write enough.

**Chapter 3: My First Mission**

I decided on putting my hair in a ponytail. It felt nice having it free of the cap, but I still couldn't have it getting in my way. In the end, when I pulled my hood up no one could see it anyway. Oh well.

For the next few days I was given no update on my status as a ninja. A random ninja popped up by my door one morning to tell me the Hokage was giving me a while to settle in and get to know the village. I got lost a lot. The village was so damn confusing! It all looked the same! The only thing I could use as reference were the big creepy faces and the Hokage building!

On day four, when I stepped out of my apartment I encountered something very loud.

"HEY! Who are _you_?!" A blonde said suddenly in my face as I jumped backwards. I tripped and landed flat on my ass.

I gritted my teeth. When he saw I wasn't getting up he offered his hand and a half-assed apology before shouting, "I'm Naruto!"

"So I see." I knocked his hand away and got up on my own.

Unfortunately he didn't seem deterred at all. "Who are you?"

"Jun" I snarled as I brushed off my black pants.

"Jun? Well, I'm – "

"I know who you are. You already said." I glared at him from under my hood.

"Huh. HEY!" I jumped again. How could anyone be so impossibly loud? "You have cool eyes! They're red! They're kinda creepy though…" He made a weird face.

"So I've been told. Look, Naruto. I'm kind of busy. So…" I made a shooing motion.

"Right! I have to go train with Jiraiya anyway! BYE!" He darted off in an orange flash.

Wait. _Jiraiya._ I was about to chase after him when Iruka appeared in front of me.

* * *

Well it was about time I finally got my leaf headband. Most of the ninja's I've seen wore them on their forehead, however, if I wore it that way, it would be covered by my hood. So, where to put it…

Around my arm would be good enough. I tied it around my left bicep and looked at Iruka expectantly.

"If you're hoping for a mission, you got one. You will be paired with Kiba Inuzuka and Sakura Haruno. Since they have both already failed the chuunin they are also genin like yourself. You will go on a mission with them."

"Who will lead the mission and who will be the team leader?" I asked eagerly. Finally something interesting!

"I will lead the mission" He grinned. "And Sakura will be team leader." He handed me a scroll. "Meet at the specified location in an hour with all of your gear. From there we will begin our mission." And with that he was gone.

I rushed to get my things ready and bounced out the door. About bloody time I got a mission. It took me a while to get there, but at least I didn't get lost this time. When I got there ten minutes early there was a pink haired girl and a cute boy with fangs and puppy sleeping on his head waiting for me on a bridge.

I jumped up on top of the rail and squatted there. I was a little upset I wasn't the team leader, but I guess that couldn't be helped. I was new to the village and I would have to earn their trust.

Or something like that.

"Hello. I'm Sakura Haruno. You must be Jun? Iruka told us you would be helping us with our mission today." She leaned toward me quickly with a smile. I leaned back startled, and lost my grip on the railing. I fell in the water with a splash.

I heard loud laughing as I brought my head to the surface and swam towards the bank and went back to my rightful place on the railing.

Kiba looked like he was going to introduce himself, but he kept his mouth shut when he saw my face. Besides, I was more interested by the dog on his head. I looked wistfully at the dog.

"Hey, Kiba." I pointed at the dog. "What's his name?"

"Oh. Uh, it's Akamaru." He said with a grin. He pointed at his face. "How did you know me?" He looked slightly concerned.

"Iruka gave me the names of my teammates and I made an obvious deduction."

"Should we do introductions?" Kiba questioned.

I was going to say there was no need, but Sakura started right away.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes… hmmm. I don't wish to mention them. My dislikes… annoying people." Heh, yeah I could name a few. "My hobbies… training I suppose. And my dreams for the future…" Her eyes lit up and Kiba sighed.

"My name is Kiba Inuzuka. I like animals. Dogs specifically. I dislike, correction, hate animal cruelty. My hobbies include playing and spending time with Akamaru. My dreams for the future include keeping Akamaru safe and becoming a great ninja; Hokage even."

Right it's my turn now. "My name is Jun. My likes include… erm my hair and… sharp things I guess" Yeah, my sword is my baby. "My dislikes include sleeping on the ground and being around most people. My hobbies… never had time for any before this. My dreams… never thought of any before. Maybe I should do that?"

"Ooookay" Kiba stretched out. "Sakura what's our mission?"

"Since Jun just became a genin a few days ago, we are going on a D rank mission… Tora escaped again." Sakura sighed, looking annoyed.

"Great. So we get to chase after that cat again. Last time it scratched Akamaru and I's faces!" Kiba muttered.

I jumped off the rail. My first mission: Find The Missing Cat Tora. What a piss off. They were wasting my skills.

* * *

I have decided I hate cats. Finding it wasn't that hard, nor was grabbing it, but I now have more claw marks on my face than I can count. I ended up sending it a death glare, but that only made matters worse as the cat even more desperately tried to escape my grasp. I also did not take well to Kiba laughing at me. At least my glare shut _him _up. We returned the cat with Iruka. Apparently we made record time in returning the cat, not that I cared much.

We returned to the Hokage's office and I at least got my first payment as a ninja. Too bad it would all be spent on buying an ointment to put on the claw marks on my face. I made sure to thank the Hokage for the mission before exiting.

Iruka turned to me. "Kiba, Sakura, you two go on. I'm going to talk to Jun for a minute." He watched them leave. "Jun, you did well on you first mission today. But, you need to learn how to communicate with others. Being on good terms with your teammates is important when determining the success of missions. You should make an effort to know others, and let them know you. Trust is vital." And with that he left me to walk home.

Trust? I've worked with plenty of people without needing trust. But, I suppose this being the Leaf Village, a ninja village… it wasn't the same. Even then I didn't think I could ever trust anyone. Would I be able to fake it? I had to. And I also had to make others trust me. Somehow…

I glanced up at the sky. It was a new moon. The sky was incredibly dark and the stars shone brightly. In the distance, I could see a figure sitting on a rooftop, their silhouette too dark to make out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Whoa, what? Yep. I just finished the fourth chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it. A new OC is introduced in this chapter... enter... Kane!

**Chapter 4: The Organization**

I went on many crappy D rank missions, sometimes more than one per day. I picked a lot of crops and worked in more fields than I ever wanted to work in, which for your information is none. Hell, I even had to catch the damn cat a second time.

I was moved around with different teammates often. I think they wanted to get me to know more people. Some were tolerable. Most… not so much. I liked Sakura. She found out I was a girl pretty fast. I guess it wasn't too hard to when I was no longer lowering my voice to sound like a boy. When she first started talking to me she would talk non-stop about boys, specifically one named Sasuke. When she learned I didn't have the same interests she started talking about different hairstyles.

Finally, I got a C ranked mission. I couldn't wait. My partners were Sakura and Ino Yamanaka. We were being led by Iruka. The mission was to aid a man who was moving to a small village within the fire nation. He was a citizen of the Leaf Village and we would be accompanied by him on our trip. Because of this, the trip would take longer than usual. We were given three days to complete our mission.

We met together just before sunrise at the village gates. Looming ominously before me was a massive cart.

"Jun!" Iruka called. "You and I will be pulling for the first hour. Let's get a move on!"

We kept switching shifts every hour. Iruka and I pulled, and then Sakura and Ino would take a turn. The whole time the man who hired us walked along the cart, pulling on his wiry, grey beard. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised he couldn't pull the cart, with his small build and stature.

We stopped for a short lunch break before moving on. That was when I first realized there might be something wrong. I didn't like the way the old man's eyes darted around in the forest, as if searching for something.

We carried on all the way until sunset. Every once in a while Ino and Sakura would start arguing, oblivious to their surroundings. With every minute I was getting more unsettled. I didn't know when it started, but I knew we were being watched.

Iruka and I took the final shift on the cart. I was glad.

I leaned in. "Hey, Iruka…"

"I know." He had a nervous look on his face. I had a bad feeling. "Okay, everyone. Let's settle down for the night. I will take first watch." He gave me a meaningful look.

I moved over towards Ino and Sakura. "Let's set our sleeping bags up and get as much sleep as we can before another round of hell tomorrow." I set mine up between the two.

When we laid down I whispered, "Ino. Sakura. _Pretend_ to sleep." Out my peripheral vision I saw them stiffen.

Sure enough an hour later their attack began. There were three of them. They moved quickly and were definitely not typical bandits. One attacked Iruka while the other two jumped from the trees at Ino, Sakura and I. I sprang up quickly, swinging my sleeping bag to block the vision of one of them while landing a solid kick in the groin. He howled and fell to the ground. Ino and Sakura could handle him.

"Tch. Dirty." Muttered the other one before coming at me with a sword. I drew my own and parried his blow. We exchanged a few more before he jumped back.

"…that sword… Kana?" He looked at me, removing his hood and revealing piercing blue eyes.

"Kane. Long-time no see. Can't exactly say it's a pleasure though." I scowled. What the hell was he doing here?

"Aaaah you're harsh as always, Kana… or do you even go by that name now?" He smiled.

"That isn't any of your concern anymore. I abandoned the organization." I snarled. Why did my past have to come back and haunt me?

"Don't be so harsh Kana, we miss you." Sarcastic bastard. I'll kill him.

"What are you doing here Kane? Don't tell me… this is a job?"

"If it wasn't then why would I be here?" Shit. "Now get out of the way and let me complete it."

"Sorry, but I have a job I need to do as well, and you know as well as I do; you can't defeat me in a fight." I shifted into my stance and lifted my blade.

"That was over a year ago. Anything could happen now." He shot forward, lunging with his blade with the intent to kill.

I sprung to the side. "Believe that if you want. No matter how hard you try you can't overcome the power of my eyes."

I tripped on a tree root. His eyes widened and he closed the gap between us quickly, plunging his sword into my chest. "You were always so clumsy, Kana."

My shadow clone disappeared.

Kane couldn't completely dodge my swing. My blade cut deeply into his left arm. Shame. It would have been better to get his sword arm. "You were always too eager, Kane."

He glared, breathing heavily and tried to determine what to do next. His eyes slanted toward Sakura, Ino and his partner. He ran towards them.

"Sakura! Ino!" I shouted. Luckily they heard me and jumped out of the way before Kane could hurt them. Kane picked up his unconscious partner and disappeared into the forest. I briefly wondered how far he would get before he collapsed from blood loss.

"Are you all okay!?" Iruka ran up with a bloodied lip. "Jun! You're bleeding!"

"I'm okay. It's not my blood." I absentmindedly cleaned off my blade before putting it back in its sheath. I glanced over at the body of Kane's partner. "Is he dead?"

"Yes." Iruka said gravely. "Ino, Sakura, or you okay?"

Both nodded. I heard a whimpering and saw the old man shaking while grasping on to the side of the cart. I took a quick look and saw the tarp had been tampered with.

"Hey. Old man. What are you hiding?" I stalked towards him.

"N-nothing."

"Heh. Nothing you say. If it was nothing, guys from an organization like that wouldn't have attacked us. They only go after the good stuff. And don't pretend I didn't notice that the tarp moved. You were going to grab the stuff and leave us here for dead. Were you not? Now, shake out your clothes and show us what you are hiding." I demanded, reaching for the pouch on my right thigh.

Just as I expected, he tried to flee. I threw a kunai and pinned his shirt to a tree.

Iruka, with the angriest look I've even seen on him walked over and pulled a few pouches out of the old man's shirt. "Pills?" He murmured.

He looked at the man, "We were not notified of the transport of these. Who were they going to?" Iruka questioned. He never got an answer. "Fine. You can speak with an interrogator back in the village." Iruka turned to me. "Jun, I will also have a few questions for you when we return to the village."

* * *

Iruka took me to the Hokage.

"Jun, tell us about the organization you mentioned during the battle on your mission." The Hokage said seriously.

I paused. Deciding how to start. "The organization doesn't have a name. Among the members of the group it is simply referred to as _the organization_. It is made up of all types of people and is mainly located here in the fire nation. However, the organization is not opposed to taking jobs in other nations. The jobs they take are mostly illegal, and they also carry out their own jobs which are mostly acts of thievery, which was most likely their goal during our mission. Most people enter or are forced into the organization at a young age and grow up with the lifestyle. The main goal of most individuals in the organization is money, and therefore it becomes the massive force that drives and keeps the organization going. Those who cannot complete their missions and cannot pull their weight are punished. Some members have been killed, especially after trying to escape the organization."

"Are you a member of the organization?" The Hokage asked.

"I was, ever since I was four. I quit as soon as I was strong enough to escape." I said, upset.

"Very well. You are dismissed."

"Is that all?" I asked, confused.

"Yes."

* * *

I later found out the pills were being delivered to another transporter, who was ultimately going to deliver them to Orochimaru. Apparently they were still examining the content of the pills in a laboratory somewhere in the village.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** This is really short. Sorry for that. Chapter 6 will be longer.

**Chapter 5: War**

The Chuunin Exams were back on. I decided not to go. I being there wasn't going to change the outcome of the fights. Besides, Sakura wasn't fighting and I just finished another C rank mission the day before and was exhausted. So I said fuck to it all and decided to sleep all day.

Or so was my plan. I had a rude awakening. Explosions. Shouting.

I had my gear on and was out the door in less than a minute. What the hell was going on? Sound ninja and sand ninja were battling leaf ninja? It was utter chaos. Ninja from both sides of the fight lay in puddles of their own blood. Ninjas of every level were engaged in an all-out war.

I saw a flash of pink hair in the distance. Sakura? She was going into the woods. I saw to other figures with her. I hesitate a second before giving chase.

It was going to take longer than I thought it would to catch up with her. I almost forgot that I would also be a target of the sound and the sand. Thankfully most of my potential opponents were already engaged. Every once and a while someone would attack me, but all it took was dodge and a counter to knock them unconscious. Not fully knowing the situation, I was hesitant to kill anyone.

Eventually it was certain I would run into someone more power. I was running along one of the last rooftops before the forest when I felt the roof vibrate under my feet. The tiles began to move under my feet and I had to jump on top of the chimney to avoid the avalanche.

As I flipped back onto the now cleared roof, an invisible force sent me flying of the roof. I landed on my back on the ground and skid backwards until my head smashed into another building. My vision blurred and I coughed as I struggled to my feet. What the hell was that? I felt like my whole body was just hit with a wrecking ball. Blood steadily flowed over my lips from my nose.

A rather tall woman stood a few meters away from me. "That strike would have killed most people," was all she said.

I scowled as she raised her palm and prepared to strike forward. Was she going to do the same move again? No more time to think. I had to _move._ I dodged out of the way as a massive wave of force struck where I just was, cracking and indenting the wall. _Holy fuck._

I shifted my short sword in my hand before charging, changing the fight to a close ranged battle. It was easier to dodge her blows when I was closer. However, I had to careful, as the force was more concentrated over a smaller area. If she hit me once I would be done for. I kept dodging her blows and landing a few of my own.

Eventually she stumbled back, moving away quickly, her blood dripping to the ground. She fled. I watched her go.

I shifted my attention back to the forest.

I've done quite a few jobs in the woods, so I wasn't that bad of a tracker. I followed Sakura's shoe prints only to come across Shikamaru. It looked like he was in trouble. He was holding multiple enemies with his jutsu, but it looked like he was about done for. I was about to spring into action when his jutsu ended, but Asuma beat me to it. That was good. I didn't know how much more fighting my body could handle in my condition.

I cautiously made my way towards Sakura; I didn't like the looks of what was going on. There was a massive battle between a massive sand creature and a massive toad. I could feel the blast waves all the way from where I was. By the time I painfully reached where Sakura was the creature and the toad were gone. I saw Sakura lying on a tree branch with a dog and rushed towards her as fast as I could.

* * *

I didn't like hospitals. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, the beds, the sheets… everything was white. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable. It felt like the space was too wide open and I felt vulnerable. Apparently I was supposed to stay for three more days. To hell with that. Sure, I had some internal injury and I could hardly get out of bed… but, I was sure I would eventually find a way out.

* * *

Okay, so maybe I didn't find a way out and suffered with hospital food and people poking me for three days. At least Sakura came to visit me a few times since they kept me from leaving. They wouldn't even let me go to the Hokage's funeral and ended up tying me down in my bed. I didn't think _that_ was all that neccisary.

At least I made a speedy recovery afterward and they would let me go on missions in a week. That was something I guess.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**Here is the next chapter! The longest one yet! Please enjoy and send a review my way.

**Chapter 6: Training... and..?**

I saved up enough money to be able to take a month off without any missions. I strode out the Hokage's office very pleased with the new Kage. She wasn't so pleased with me bothering her just a few hours after taking her new position. She said she had more important things to worry about, but she still granted my request. Maybe she just wanted me to leave her alone.

I stretched and looked at the clouds drifting lazily in the sky. How relaxing. I shook my head. Now was not the time for relaxing. I grinned to myself. It was time to dedicate my body and my mind to training.

Except… there wasn't really anyone to train me. I also didn't have a clue what chakra type I was. In the organization we mainly focused on hand to hand combat and weapons. No one knew any ninjutsu, so there was no one to learn from.

But I had to find someone to teach me now. I knew just who I had to find. And I knew he was in the village. I headed off to the hot springs.

* * *

"Hey. Pervert." I whispered behind Jiraiya.

"Quit it Jun. I'm doing some research." He said sounding giddy as he viewed into the woman's bath through a crack in the wood fence. He started giggling to himself and pushed his face closer to the crack.

I smacked him in the back of the head. "If you don't listen to me I will ensure everyone knows you are here and what you are doing."

He scowled up at me before rising from his crouch. "What do you want brat?"

"I want to know my chakra type so I can train with it." I said bluntly. "You can help me with that."

"Right to the point, huh? Look, I'm not going to train you. I've already taken on a student. One brat is enough to deal with."

"I know. You're training Naruto. He's bound to be a handful. Dealing with a child must be hard, especially if you also act like one yourself." He glared at me for that. "The least you can do is tell me how to find my chakra type."

"Go bother someone else and have them explain it to you. Kakashi would be your best bet. Go bother him for a bit and leave me to my research." He said crouching back down, shooing me away.

"Useless ass."

* * *

I caught Kakashi just as he was coming out of the Hokage's office. I asked him for help and he gave me a piece of paper. He seemed to be in a rush and hurried through his explanation before leaving. I figured he must have been on his way to a mission.

I made my way to my own personal training ground. I didn't like using the official training ground. It was too full of people and didn't like revealing my abilities to people, even if they were supposed to be my allies. You never knew when someone would betray you. I preferred to know more about others than they knew about me. As I headed to my 'training ground' I jumped back and forth between the roofs, warming up.

I bounded down to my training area which was a small clearing in a patch of trees just within the village's gates. A picked the paper out of my pocket. Apparently all I had to do was concentrate my chakra in the paper and my type would be revealed. Well, there was no harm in giving it a try, as skeptical as I was.

I held the paper in my left hand and concentrated.

I opened my hand. "What?!" Kakashi had told me all about what different types of chakra would do to the paper. He said if I was a wind type the paper would have a rip in it. My paper was _shredded. _I put the scraps back in my pocket. Maybe a misheard him.

Anyway, now I knew my chakra type. Now I needed to strengthen it. I needed something harder to tear. Hmmmm… I picked a leaf off of a tree. I shredded it too. Still too easy…

I walked over to a tree grinning to myself. There was no way I could possibly do it, but it was worth a try. A placed my left palm over the wood, running it over the rough bark before steadying myself in a stance. I paused and closed my eyes. I felt the air around me. I breathed it in. Exhaled. It may have been my imagination, but when I began gathering my chakra it felt like the air around me grew heavier, until it felt like I almost couldn't breathe.

I released it all, focusing on my palm. What followed was just about the sharpest, loudest sound I heard, followed by a groaning. My eyes snapped open and I dodged out of the way before the tree could crush me.

I breathed heavily and wiped the sweat off my brow. My eyes widened as I walked around to investigate the bark of the tree.

I completely destroyed it. I held my left hand up and then clenched it. I felt powerful, joyful. I started giggling to myself. I remembered Jiraiya and I found the word to describe what I was feeling. I was giddy.

I didn't let myself bathe in the realization of my own awesomeness for too long. Yea, it was a super powerful move. However, it was only performed when one hundred percent of my focus was dedicated to it. I needed to be able to use it in an actual fight. And in an actual fight there would be no way I would be able to that. But still, it was something to work with. I smiled and looked at the trees around me. It was the perfect environment to practice it as well. I was reluctant to destroy my training ground, but for this killer move? I would make an exception.

* * *

I awoke sometime the next day, or maybe the one after that, I wasn't too sure. I made no move to get up. I was lying on the forest floor absolutely exhausted. I pushed myself way to hard. I moved my head slightly to look at the results of my training. It was _so_ worth it. It wasn't until it started raining that I bothered to get up and dragged myself back towards the heart of the village, and my home. My stomach growled in protest.

"Oh shut up you." I muttered. "I'll take care of you in a little."

"JUN!" A voice cried.

I groaned. No, please. Just let me go home. "Yes? Sakura?" I froze when I saw the expression on her face. She looked devastated. "What is it? What's wrong?" I gave her a small smile. "Who do you want me to kill?"

She gave a small laugh. It almost sounded hysterical. Shit. What the hell happened?

"Sasuke… he went to Orochimaru." She said sadly.

"He did _what_?" What the hell did he think he was doing?! I growled to myself. _That little shit._

"Shikamaru left with a team to chase after them. They were going to have you join them, but they didn't know where you were…"

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'll get my gear and go talk to the Hokage and see if there is anything I can do." I turned away and ran home. I wished I could have told her to not worry.

I burst through my door and grabbed a few granola bars to eat as I taped up my body because of the damage I caused to it while training. It took longer than I wanted it to and by the time I was done it looked like I was a mummy. Since my skin was already completely covered in bandages, I pulled on a pair of black shorts and an equally dark hoodie.

I stormed into the Hokage's office.

She looked at me, exasperated. "Care to knock?" She said under her breath. "What do you want now, Jun?"

"I want to follow up on the team that went after Sasuke."

She scowled. "I thought you were taking the month off?"

"Ummm…"

"Since you are, do what you want." She said simply and buried her head back in her paperwork. _Literally. _

"Thank you!" I cried and bowed before leaving the room.

* * *

I rushed through the woods. The rain was not making my travel easy. It was also making tracking far more difficult. I couldn't believe they sent genin after Sasuke. Who knew what types of opponents they would have to face. Wait. I was still a genin too. Well, not for long, during the next chuunin exams I would definitely pass.

I came to a stop as I came to a clearing.

"Choji!" I yelled, rushing forward. Shit. This was _not _good. He looked bad. I paused, considering my options. I picked him up and headed back towards the village as fast as I could.

When I reached the gates the guards rushed forward with shocked looks on their faces.

I gave Choji to one of them. "Please. Inform the Hokage of the situation." I glanced back at the forest. "I need to go back and see what else I can do."

That was when my legs gave out on me.

* * *

I was back at the hospital. I was informed that because of the sand siblings and the Hokage's outstanding medical jutsu there were no casualties amongst my comrades. Still, the mission was a failure. I couldn't help myself to not feel bad about Sasuke. I never liked him and was actually kind of glad he was gone. But every time I looked at Sakura's face a pang of quilt went through me for thinking that way. I did feel bad for _her_.

On top of that I felt nearly useless. I wished I could have done more. I didn't even know the Hokage sent the sand siblings as reinforcement before I even set out to go after Sasuke. At least I saved Choji. Even if it was just one life, it was important. I just wish I could have been more useful.

The medical ninja working on me scolded me for heading out with the condition my body was in. He said my muscles were far too damaged and that I should have spent my time in bed rather than on a mission. Now the next week of my 'vacation' (a.k.a. training time) was being wasted in the hospital as I was forced to recover. I didn't want to get tied to my bed again.

I couldn't wait to work on my new move and I wanted to get as strong as I could before the next chuunin exams. There, I would face the sand siblings and many other powerful opponents. Finally, I would be able to truly test my skills as a ninja.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Please review!

**Chapter 7: Chuunin Exams Begin!**

I was so excited I was practically vibrating. I couldn't stay still. I would sit down, only to get back up five seconds later.

"You need to calm down," said Sakura.

My partners for the chuunin exam were Sakura and Choji. I found out the Hokage was actually going to keep me out of the chuunin exam because they didn't have any partners for me. Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for Ino, she was injured on her latest mission and I was able to take her place on the team. Even better for me, I was assigned as leader.

"I can't help it! I'm too fired up!" I started bouncing up and down trying to expend some of my energy.

Choji didn't say anything and continued munching on a bag of chips

"Hey, Choji? Do you think the exam will be similar to the last?" Sakura asked.

Choji just shrugged, not faltering in shoving another chip in his mouth.

Finally we were able to enter the exam room. Ibiki was waiting for us.

"I wonder if it will be a written exam again this year?" Sakura whispered.

"Huh! A written exam!" Hell no. I do not need to fail the first test. I don't even know what type of written subjects they would teach in ninja school.

"Quiet down and pay attention." Ibiki said. "I will directing the first exam. This exam will take place in the forest of death."

There were a few murmurs around the crowd.

"Hey, Sakura. What's the forest of death?" I whispered in response to the adverse reaction to Ibiki's words.

"It was the location of the second exam in the latest chuunin exams. As the name implies, the forest is filled with many dangerous creatures." She whispered back, looking slightly worried.

"Huh." I wondered if it would be the same exam as last year.

"In this exam, the goal is the tower in the middle of the arena. The tower its self is surrounded by ten kilometres of forest all around. You must reach the tower in two days time. All team members must be conscious when reaching the tower. When you reach the tower, only two out of three teammates will pass. The who does not pass will never be able to take the exam again." Ibiki continued. "However, there is a way for all teammates to pass. On the way to the tower there are numerous locations where your team can take a 'test'. These tests are insanely difficult. If you pass one of these tests and make it to the tower in time, all teammates will pass. I must warn you though, if you take these tests… you will not make it out of them unscathed, you may even die. For that reason we will have you sign these waiver forms for the exam."

"Interesting," was all I said.

I read and signed the waiver, while thinking about what Ibiki said. I looked around at the group of ninjas. Most were from the leaf village. Others were from other villages. Many people looked uneasy. Some looked scared. Some looked angry. Very few looked as confident as I felt.

We still had two hours until the exam began, but Choji, Sakura and I went to our gate to enter the forest. There were forty-four gates. Because there were not enough gates for all of the teams, some teams were doubled up at the gates. When we reached our gate there were already three figures waiting there. Choji actually stopped eating chips for a fraction of a second. Sakura had a worried look on her face.

"Who are they?" I asked curiously.

"The sand siblings," answered Sakura. "I wonder if they will try to take us out the second the exam starts."

"If they do, we just need to fight them off or flee." I said.

"I don't think that's possible," muttered Choji in between munches.

"The one with the red hair is insanely powerful. He seemed to have a screw loose during the last exam. He helped with the mission to bring Sasuke back though… he saved Lee's life. He seemed calmer then as well." Sakura looked troubled.

"Well things change. People change," I said. "If anything comes up we will deal with it then. For now, let's go say hi."

We walked towards the three with me in the lead. Sakura and Choji seemed nervous and hanged behind me slightly.

"Hello, we haven't met before." I smiled. "I'm Jun."

The guy with the face paint responded. "Hey there. I'm Kankuro. This is Temari." He pointed towards her as she nodded. "And this is our younger brother Gaara."

"It's good to meet you all. I heard you saved many of my comrade's lives a few months ago. I must thank you for that." I said bowing my head.

"Hey, Hey. Don't be doing that. After all, we were just repaying our debt to the Leaf Village." Kankuro said bring his hands up.

"Still, thank you." I grinned. "This is your second time taking the exam, right?"

"Yea, they aren't that bad. Things should get interesting later on. You didn't participate during the last exams. Are these your first?"

Kankuro didn't seem all that bad to talk to. I thought with his face paint and odd outfit he would kind of creepy. Seemed like I was mistaken. "Yes, I hope they are somewhat of a challenge."

"Last year they had a tournament where the contestants fought. I hope they do the same this year. I wouldn't mind fighting you; you have a unique air about yourself." Kankuro crossed his arms.

"You say that so confidently it sounds almost like you could win," I teased lightly.

Temari glared in our direction. "Would you two quit flirting?"

"Huh."

"Who's flirting?" Kankuro said exasperated.

"You almost already look like a couple, dressed like that." Temari gestured to our clothes.

"Hey." I said seriously. "I may be wearing black but don't compare my clothes to his. That's offensive."

"Maybe to me," Kankuro chuckled. "At least my clothes have… personality. Yea. Personality."

I looked at his cat ears. "If you say so."

Temari laughed as Kankuro pouted. "All of you are so mean to me."

I noticed Gaara was paying attention to the whole conversation, but he didn't say a word and his expression didn't change once. At least Sakura and Choji were looking more comfortable. That was something.

We ate our lunch and before I knew it, it was time for the exams to begin. The six of stood before the gates.

"Good luck, everyone," I said.

"Oooh, hey, I got an idea." Kankuro seemed excited. "How about we race to see who can reach the tower first."

I glanced back at Sakura and Choji and raised my eyebrows. They nodded. "You're on." I grinned. "About this exam, I trust we have all have arrived at the same opinion."

I knew Ibiki was trying to create disorder within the group that would damage teamwork. I was sure that anyone who arrived at the tower would pass. And those that failed the 'tests' would fail. No good team leader would risk their teammate's lives in an impossible mission.

Sakura nodded. "Ibiki pulled a similar trick last time."

"He did?" Everyone seemed to agree. So they were used to him. "I wonder how many teams will be failed."

"Hopefully a lot," Sakura muttered. Choji nodded his agreement.

The gates to the arena opened. "Here we go."

We all rushed forward. The sand siblings were fast. I had no problem keeping up. Neither did Sakura and Choji, which surprised me. They improved a lot over the last few months.

For ten minutes we were running without incident. Suddenly flying straight at us, there was a massive snake. It narrowly missed the sand siblings and they watched it pass with surprised eyes. I quickly knocked Sakura and Choji out of the way. I almost completely avoided it. I managed to move out of the way of its massive teeth, but my arm still got bumped by its nose. I felt the bone in my right arm snap. I went flying and hit the ground.

I flipped over and pulled my sword into my left hand awkwardly. I was used to using my right. I allowed my wind chakra to flow down it. I waited until the snake struck again. I rolled to the side and thrust my blade out, allowing it to stab into the snake's stomach. The snake's momentum allowed my blade to cut cleanly down its stomach, effectively gutting it.

"Jun! Are you okay?" Sakura came rushing over.

I checked my arm. It was a clean break. I would be fine until we reached the tower. "Yea, let's catch up with the sand sibs."

It only took us ten more minutes until we were right beside them. After seeing me covered in mud and snake guts, Kankuro looked like he was going to piss himself laughing.

"Shut up, loser." I said with a laugh.

The rest of the trip went without incident and much to everyone's disappointment, we made it to the tower at the same time.

Kankuro sighed. "At least we beat the record we set last year."

"Really," I said. "What was your time?"

"Ninety-three minutes." He grinned. "This time we cut at least fifteen minutes off the record."

"Huh."

We were taken inside by a very surprised Jounin. I was glad we finally got to rest. As we walked in Gaara came to walk beside me.

To everyone's surprise he actually said something. He gestured to my arm. "You should get that looked at."

As I gaped Sakura came rushing up to me. "What. Did. You. Do."

"Oh this?" I said innocently as I held up my arm. "It's just broken. Not too bad though."

"Why didn't you say something!"

"I didn't think it was worth mentioning." Sakura face palmed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Second Test**

I wanted to explore the tower. Sakura chased after me as I eagerly took a peek in as many rooms as I could. They were all completely empty as far as I could tell. Boring.

"Are you sure you don't want me to look at it?" asked a concerned Sakura.

"Yes. I'll be okay for a little. The Jounin said a medical ninja would be here in within an hour to check up with the participants. Don't worry about it." I smiled. "I wonder where we will be staying for the night. Maybe we should ask the sand siblings?"

"That would be a good idea. I wouldn't know, since my team arrived on the last day during our first exam."

I scowled at the last room on the top floor. Empty. At least the spiral staircase provided some amusement. I cautiously poked at the wooden railing. I grinned and hopped onto the railing.

"What are you doing now, Jun?"

"Taking the fun way down."

"Don't be so childish." Sakura scolded.

"I can't help myself. I'm too bored."

"You're going to hurt yourself. More."

"Don't care." I began sliding down the pole and stuck my arms out like I was surfing, with my left hand leading. My right arm hurt, but like I said, I didn't care. By the time I reached the bottom, I was going pretty fast. What I didn't account for was a wall right across from where the railing was. I quickly grabbed the rail with my left arm and flipped over until my feet touched the ground and I landed in a kneeling position. I stayed there until Sakura came down the stairs with her arms crossed.

"Are you happy now?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, yes." I bounced out of my kneeling stance. "Let's go join the others."

I navigated the tower with ease, to the third floor room where everyone was taken to.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Temari and Kankuro sat in the centre of the room, talking about something. Choji was in a corner with another bag of chips and Gaara sat with his back to a wall, with his head leaning against it. He had his eyes closed. I thought he might have been sleeping, but when I glanced at his face his eyes opened and met my own. I held his gaze for a second, before turning to Kankuro.

"Hey. Do they have a place for us to sleep here, or do we have to stay awake all night?" Sakura entered the room behind me. I closed the door behind us.

"They assign each team an empty room for each night. It's your choice whether or not you stay in your room though. But, you can't go in other team's rooms at night. They don't want any us killing each other in here." Kankuro snorted.

"Hmmm." I laid down and rested my right arm on top of my stomach. Sakura went to the corner where Choji was. We stayed there like that until the medical ninja arrived.

Upon my request I was removed from the room to be examined. My teammates watched with wide eyes as I went. They probably expected the ninja to take care of my injuries right there. I didn't want that.

"So, what is wrong?" She asked.

"My arm is broken. That's about it."

"Okay. Take off your sweater." She said.

I undid the zipper on my hoodie. "Everything here is confidential?" I asked.

"Yes." Her eyes widened slightly when she saw my skin, but she composed herself quickly. I always got that reaction. The only ones that have seen my skin in the Leaf Village were the medics and I always made them swear confidentiality. I didn't want them to speak of the various types of scars that were scattered across my skin. I didn't want any questions.

She quickly applied a basic healing jutsu to my arm and put it in a cast. By no means was it healed. I had to leave the cast on for another month and she warned me to not damage the cast or get it wet.

I nodded, thanked her, put my sweater back on and left the room.

I went back to where everyone else was.

"So?" Sakura said.

"Hm? Oh." I showed off my cast and raised my eyebrows. "No one else showed up yet?"

"Most people are probably taking their time and making sure they get here safely." Temari muttered.

Kankuro chuckled. "How do you plan to defeat me in a fight if your dominant arm is broken?"

I coughed out a laugh. "I could still beat you if it was tied behind my back. Don't count me out yet."

A ninja came to the door and Sakura went to speak with him.

"They have some supper for us downstairs." She practically ran out of the door.

Kankuro shortly followed. "About time! I'm starved!"

My stomach growled. By the time I got downstairs, Kankuro had already devoured half of his meal and Sakura was looking at him with a disgusted expression.

They had a small table set up with six seats. I was the second last one to arrive. Gaara sat down shortly after me. There was some kind of meat, noodles, and mixed vegetables. I had some difficulty eating with my left hand and Kankuro laughed at me. Every once in a while a piece of meat would disappear off my plate due to Choji. After the meal I noticed Gaara had not touched his plate.

I caught up with Kankuro . "Is Gaara okay? He didn't eat anything."

"Oh, that." He face turned serious. "A lot of people have attempted to kill Gaara over the years. Their attempts included poisonings. The only food Gaara used to eat was what he made himself. Lately, he has allowed Temari and I to make his food though."

"Oh." I didn't really have a response to that. It wasn't like I didn't know who Gaara was. I knew what he's done and about the one-tailed beast sealed inside of him. "Goodnight."

* * *

I went back with Sakura and Choji to our room for the night.

I groaned and held my head. Last night just had to be one of the nights I got no sleep. I rarely got dreams, but when I got dreams they were really shitty. I closed my eyes and the remnants of my dream flashed behind my eyelids.

Light.

Pain.

Blood.

Darkness.

A sharp pain made my eyes snap open. Ugh. I just had to get headaches from lack of sleep.

By the time I made it downstairs it was already breakfast time and I took the last remaining seat. It looked like Neji's team had made it to the tower sometime during the night. Most of the people there were already half done eating. Neji was already leaving and Lee glared at his back. TenTen glanced between the two and sighed, but didn't say anything.

I looked down at my food. There was fish, miso soup, rice and an assortment of vegetables. I was less than fond of fish, but I would eat what I could get.

Kankuro kept sneaking glances at me. Finally he actually said something.

"Hey? Jun?" He looked slightly concerned.

"Mmm?" I said with my mouth full of rice.

"You look like shit." He said, glancing at the dark circles under my eyes.

Temari smacked him in the back of the head.

"I already figured that. You don't need to rub it in."

I wasn't very hungry. I was actually a little nauseous, but I forced myself to finish my meal, since I knew I would need the energy for later tomorrow.

The rest of the day went along uneventfully. We would go downstairs and eat our meals. Kankuro and I would talk about nothing important. He never commented on how my eyes looked again, probably in fear of Temari. Though, I did get a few strange looks from Gaara.

A few other teams arrived. Shino, Hinata and Kiba arrived just before supper. So did a group of ninja from the Land of Earth.

The lounge was awfully loud. It did not help my headache. I glared around at the various people. I needed to get away.

I walked up the stairs to the tower's highest room and opened the door. To my surprise it was already occupied.

Gaara sat on the windowsill and was gazing out into the forest. As I entered, he noticed me and turned to face me.

"Oh! Umm…" I said rather surprised. "Do you mind if I hang around up here? It's too loud downstairs."

He shook his head and went back to gazing out the window. I went to the other side of the room and closed my eyes. The light breeze from the window felt nice and relaxing as it brushed against my skin.

* * *

I had no clue how I got there. I awoke groggy and disoriented, and surprisingly of all, in my team's room. I was confused. To say the least. I turned towards Sakura, who was also just waking up as the sunlight from our window hit her face.

"Sakura?" I asked.

"Hmmm..?" She murmured, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"How did I get here?"

She gave me a puzzled and confused look. "To the chuunin exams?"

I shook my head. "To our room."

Her eyes lit up with realization. "_Oh, _you fell asleep upstairs. Gaara returned you here before everyone went to sleep. You made us worry. We didn't know where you were." She sent me a glare. "And you should be more careful where you fall asleep."

I flushed and looked toward the ground. _I fell asleep? Gaara returned me? _My face turned redder than it already was as I realized he would have had to of carried me.

"Breakfast should be ready by now," Sakura continued. "Let's head downstairs."

I nodded and followed her down, pulling my hoodie to cover as much of my embarrassed face as I could.

We were the first two people at the table and I was grateful for that. Luckily, I was getting used to using my left hand, and I finished eating before anyone else arrived. Sakura glanced at me curiously as I rushed out of the room.

I collided with someone and stumbled back, landing on my behind. I didn't think I could be any more embarrassed before I saw who it was.

"G-Gaara." I sprang to my feet, avoiding his pale, pupil-less eyes. "Sorry." I rubbed the back of my neck through my hoodie, unsure what to say neck. "I – ummmm… sorry."

He didn't say anything and then walked right past me as if nothing happened. Oh, damn. Did I piss him off?

I heard a laugh and saw Kankuro. Based on his expression he had to have seen the whole thing.

I glared at him. "Shut up."

He chuckled again and walked passed me. "Don't worry so much."

I stayed in hiding until it was time for the second exam.

* * *

A number of other teams made it to the tower on the final day. We left the forest together and exited the forest just before six. We were lead to the arena in which the preliminaries and the third exam took place just six months ago. Were we already going to fight?

Anko entered by jumping into the centre of the arena.

"All right, BRATS! LISTEN UP! Your second exam will take place right here, right now. In this exam each of you will be given a small ring attached to a string with a clip." She paused as they were handed out. "I want you all to attach these to your right hips… good!" She grinned. "The objective of this test is to steal another person's ring. To pass this test you must have two rings. One of these rings must be yours. Not only must you manage to keep your own ring, you must successfully steal another's without being noticed by them. If the person you are trying to steal from notices you, you will be disqualified and they will be given your ring and they will pass. You cannot cover your rings. They must be visible at all times on the right hip. You may come over to me to hand in your two rings once you are done." She jumped out of the way of the contestants and in a loud voice yelled, "YOU MAY BEGIN!"

I took my hood of to give me better visibility and glanced at my opponents. There were two ways we could go about to complete this test. We could attempt to steal a ring, or wait for someone to try to steal from us. I looked around at the group. It looked like most people had chosen the latter.

I grinned as I saw Kankuro using his chakra strings to snatch someone's ring.

I brought out my hook and line. I hadn't used this baby in a long time. I shifted my weight and scanned for a good target as I slowly moved through the crowd. I crouched down and threw my line. At the same time I saw a hand move very quickly towards my hip. I quickly drew the line back, the hook snagging into the hand as I wrapped the line around to hold it tightly. I heard a gasp of pain.

I glared at the ninja who tried to steal my ring. "Waiting for your target to be distracted before making your move was a good plan. However, you were far too obvious with the way you were following me. You also picked the wrong target. There is no way someone like you could have sneaked up on someone as experienced as me."

Blood from the ninja's hand dripped onto the arena floor.

"Now give me your ring." I said.

He reached across his body with his left hand and grabbed it from his hip to drop it in my waiting palm. I released his hand from my line.

"Better luck next time." I jogged over to where Anko was and handed her my two rings.

She grinned at me. "You may go to the waiting area inside that building." She said while pointing.

I walked into the room. I wasn't expecting to be the first one there. I smiled as I saw Gaara and Kankuro.

"Jun!" Kankuro cried. "You made it!"

"Of course I made it idiot."

He gave me a strange look. "Are you mad?"

"Just a little. I felt like I was underestimated." I growled.

"Ah, I see. Someone tried to steal from you." He murmured.

"Yea. It wasn't even that good of an attempt."

He laughed and we watched as other people began to file in. Most were from the Leaf Village. Choji came in rather soon, which surprised me, but I guess he had to be pretty stealthy to be able to snag people's food off their own plates. Sakura made it as well.

Tsunade came into the room looking rather tired and grumpy. "Gah." She muttered, "Why are there so many of you. How many of you are there… one, two… sixteen." She sighed, "I guess we will have preliminaries this time."

Great.

"Anko, could you take care of that? I have more work that needs to be done." She said walking off. "Call me when the round of preliminaries is over."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Anko scowled, obviously not happy with the arrangement. "I'll be right back brats, so don't do anything stupid."

In a few minutes she came back with a bowl filled with white paper slips. She went around to each person and had them draw one.

"You may now unfold your piece of paper. Read out your numbers in order. Numbers one and two will fight, so will three and four and so on."

"One." I said

"Two."

I glanced over at who I was fighting. It was a ninja from the Land of Water.

"Three." Said Kankuro.

"Four." Tenten murmured uneasily, having fought his sister during the last exams.

"Five." Whispered another ninja from the Land of Water.

"Six." Neji confidently smiled.

"Seven." Temari said.

"Eight." Choji said with his mouth full of chips.

"Nine!" Lee shouted.

"T-ten." Stuttered Hinata, having just jumped from Lee's sudden outburst.

"Eleven." Shino said.

"Twelve!" Kiba looked excited to fight his teammate.

"Thirteen." It was yet another ninja from the Land of Water.

"Fourteen." Sakura said while relaxing. She looked like she was glad to not have to fight a ninja from her own village in the first round.

"Fifteen." Gaara said without any emotion.

"S-sixteen." Choked out a ninja from the Land of Earth. He looked terrified.

"Good." Anko said, "In these battles the opponents will face each other until one can no longer fight or until one surrenders. The winner will go on to the third part of the examination, which will also be a tournament of battles. Now we will begin the first match. Numbers one and two will stay here. Everyone else go and take a seat. The battle will begin shortly."

I grinned; it looked like my fight was going to start right away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** This chapter is pretty short. I'm pretty busy with entering into university and selecting my courses for my first year, so don't expect too much the rest of this week. I'll get another chapter out for sure on the weekend. That one should be longer. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! (P.S. I kind of like the preliminary fights to be pretty short, but if you want me to extend one just message me and I should be able to get around to it on the weekend.)

**Chapter 9: Preliminaries **

I stood there with my hands in my pockets as everyone went up to the bleachers to watch the match.

"Good luck." Kankuro grinned. "Remember, you promised me a fight."

I glared at him and flipped him off with my good hand. "Shut it and let me concentrate on my fight."

The ninja from the Land of Water began laughing.

I glared at him. "You. What is your name?"

"Sorry princess. I only give my name to those I consider a worthy opponent." He chortled. "Why don't you forfeit now and make it easier for yourself?"

I growled. That fucker. I took my stance and looked towards Anko.

"You may begin." She said, sounding bored.

The ninja was still laughing. "How do you plan to do taijutsu without your right hand? Last chance sweetheart. Forfeit while you still can."

I glared at him and he grinned. He flung three kunai at me and I easily picked them out of the air. He paused and then threw three more as he ran in a circle around me. Did he really think I was that stupid? I dodged the kunai with the explosive tags attached to them and ran towards the ninja with my blade drawn in my left hand. I kept a loose grip on the sword and when he met my strike with a kunai, my sword went flying out of my hand, sticking in the ground firmly.

He lunged towards me and I flipped over him, twirling and landed softly.

As he turned to face me I smirked and relaxed out of my stance. He looked at me puzzled.

He grinned. "So, giving up so soon? A good ninja knows when they shouldn't face an opponent. And sweetheart, I'm out of your league."

"Funny." I said, lifting my left hand. "I was going to say the same thing."

Light glinted off the line in my left hand. His eyes widened and I suddenly pulled the line that was wrapped around his neck so it was pressed up against his skin. Little trickles of blood ran down to his collarbone.

"When –"

"When I jumped above you." I grinned. "Forfeit while you still can."

He glared at me, considering his options and how much he underestimated me. He sighed. "I forfeit."

"Good decision." I relaxed the line and let him slip it over his head.

"The winner is Jun," said Anko.

I practically skipped up to the bleachers and sat with everyone else. The ninja from the Land of Water sat away from everyone else.

I peered down at Kankuro and Tenten who were about to start their match.

It was obvious from the beginning who was going to win. Kankuro was easily able to shield himself from Tenten's various weapons with his puppet. The match ended with Tenten trapped inside it. Kankuro came back to the bleachers looking rather smug and Tenten looked glum, while Lee was desperately trying to cheer her up.

The next match was between Neji and a ninja from the Land of Water. It was another obvious match. Neji easily hit his opponent's chakra points only a few seconds after Anko told them to start. I smiled as the ninja went down. Neji would definitely be a formidable opponent.

Temari and Choji were next. Choji shoved a handful of chips in his mouth and chewed them as he went down to the arena.

Choji and Temari faced each other after Anko told them to begin. The beginning of the match seemed like it was going to be interesting, but it was rather repetitive. Choji would expand a part of his body and either try to grab or hit Temari with a movement. Temari would jump out of the way and counter with blades made from her wind chakra which would cut into Choji's skin. By the end of the match, Choji was bleeding badly and was no longer able to stand. He was carried out by a medical team.

Hinata and Lee's fight was more interesting than I thought it would be. While Lee had an excellent offense, Hinata had an even better defense. Lee attempted many kicks and punches only to have them blocked by Hinata who skillfully moved her arms around her body, able to strike in any place with them while keeping her feet firmly planted on the ground. She even managed to hit Lee a few times. The battle kept going for quite a while and in the end, it came down to stamina. Hinata's movements slowed due to her increasing fatigue, but Lee didn't slow down at all. Eventually he handed a good hit and Hinata went flying. She was determined unfit to continue.

I leaned forward for Sakura's match. This ninja was also from the Land of Water.

"You may begin!" Yelled Anko.

Sakura instantly went motionless, her eyes unfocused.

"Wrong move." I murmured under my breath and Kankuro looked at me curiously. I explained, "Sakura is exceptional in genjutsu. Just watch."

The water ninja strolled up to Sakura with dark grin on his face, my eyes widened as he pulled out a kunai. He was planning on killing her.

Sakura kept still as the ninja approached. The ninja lunged forward with his kunai. I smirked as Sakura punched him right in the solar plexus. As he fell to his knees she nailed him right in the side of the head with a kick.

Kankuro looked surprised. "Not bad. I didn't even notice she broke the genjutsu."

Anko called Gaara and the ninja from the Land of Earth to the arena. I saw out of the corner of my eye the earth ninja raise his shaking hand.

"I f-forfeit." He said as he cast a fearful look at Gaara. Gaara just stared back at him unblinking.

Anko sighed. "Okay then. Would the victors please join me down here? The rest of you can go home. Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Sakura, Neji, Lee, Shino, and I made our way down to the arena.

"Wait there for a moment, the Hokage will be here soon."

I poked Kankuro in the side.

He gave me a weird look. "What?"

I forgot my train of thought and just said, "I don't know, I just felt like poking you."

He snorted and I grinned.

"How is your arm doing?" He asked.

"Hmmm… good I guess." I muttered. Actually it kind of hurt. I could handle it though.

"That's good. I don't want you to get distracted during our match. It would be a shame if you lost so easily after you said you could beat me with one arm tied behind your back." He grinned. "I can't wait to see what type of abilities your hiding."

"Who says I'm hiding anything?"

"You just seem to be the type to have secrets. Besides, anyone smart enough wouldn't reveal everything in the first round. And you hardly showed anything at all. It just makes me curious."

"Well," I said dangerously, "You know what they say: 'Curiosity killed the cat.'" I looked pointedly at his cat ears.

"Hey now," he said, holding his hands up. "Save it for our fight." He laughed.

Tsunade walked in. "So these are our contestants for the third exam?" She nodded to herself. "The matches will resume in a week. Here, in this same arena. I wish you all the best of luck. Remember to show your skills needed to become a chuunin. The matches will go as follows:

Jun vs. Kankuro

Neji vs. Temari

Shino vs. Rock Lee

Gaara vs. Sakura

The winner of the first match will fight the winner of the second match in the semi-finals two weeks from now. The same goes for the third and the forth match. Then, the winners of those two matches will compete in the finals in one month's time." She put her hand on her forehead. "That is it. You are dismissed," she sighed.

I grinned towards the sand siblings. "Anyway, I'll see you guys around."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I stretched as I got out of bed and absent-mindedly scratched at my cast. It didn't help at all, but I pretended it did.

I scowled at my clothes. I hadn't bothered changing them last night. Basically I ate when I got home and then fell asleep on top of my bed covers without even taking my shoes off. I scowled at my bed too. Now I would have to wash the sheets as well. I tore them off my bed to the best of my abilities. It was fairly frustrating to do it with one hand. I threw the sheets into my laundry basket and my clothes soon followed.

I stumbled into the bathroom, still half asleep, to start the bath. I poured in a generous amount of lavender flavored soup. The scent helped me relax. The water was a little too hot, but I didn't care. I let my right arm hang outside the bath.

After I was done washing up, I wrapped a towel around myself and went to go pick out some cloths. It wasn't like I had much variety. Let's see… black sweaters… black long-sleeved shirts… black pants.

I sighed. It wasn't that I didn't like colours. I actually really liked green. Seeing it used to mean I was free from the organization compound. I guess it still meant that. But anyway, I liked colours, but black was more convenient for a ninja and a thief lifestyle. I was used to wearing it. It made me feel comfortable.

I pulled on my usual attire. A sweater and a pair of pants. Dressing was a little difficult with a broken arm, but I managed it. I left my hair down to dry.

I bounded out of the door and tried to decide what to do for the day. I wasn't training. I was tired from the exams and I wanted a day off. I had a week until the next part of the exams anyway.

I walked down the streets and stopped at some of the small stores people set up on the street. I bought an apple, which I munched on while browsing through some of the other items. I stopped by a jewellery store, drawn by a red sparkle. What I was looking at was a beautiful necklace. It was a silver spider with a red jewel which made up its abdomen. When I asked the shop owner what type of jewel it was, I was told it was a spinel. The spinel had criss-crosses of silver over it, which held it in its place. It took me a second to realize that it was a web, though the pattern seemed random and unconventional. The necklace was hung on a thin, silver chain which was threaded through the spider's fangs.

I looked at the price and bit my lip. I didn't _need _it and besides it wasn't like I had even worn jewellery before…

I ended up buying it. My pockets felt lighter, but I could feel the weight of the necklace sit comfortably on my chest under my sweater. I smiled a little, happy I had decided to buy it.

I left the shops in an effort to not spend any more money. I _did _need to eat.

I walked down to my personal training ground and sat on one of the destroyed trees and gazed up at the clouds. I stared up at the sky and emptied my mind. I stayed there for quite a while, just relaxing. After a while I sat and started braiding small sections of my hair before sticking them behind my ears. It annoyed me when the wind blew it in my face.

* * *

The sun was almost setting. I pulled myself up to a seating position. Did I fall asleep? I must have. I stood and rolled my shoulders. I gently brushed off some of the ants that crawled onto me while I was sleeping.

My stomach growled and I felt a little light headed. Well, that's what I got for only eating an apple all day. I rushed into the village to buy some fresh food before the shops closed.

I ran into the store with fifteen minutes to spare. I grabbed a dozen eggs and some fresh vegetables for the next few days. I had some meat in my freezer and some rice back at my apartment. I was hurrying to the check out when I bumped into someone.

I glared at Kankuro. "Be careful would you? You almost crushed my eggs."

He scowled at me. "You were the one who bumped into me."

I glanced at his empty arms. "Aren't you getting anything? You know the store closes in," I peeked at one of the store's clocks. "Ten minutes."

"Temari is deciding what to buy. I'm only here to carry stuff. Don't know why. We don't have a kitchen in our hotel so it's not like we have a fridge to store food in. We can't buy much."

"Hm. How do you plan to cook food then?"

"Temari is getting some premade stuff." Kankuro said.

I snorted a laugh.

"Hey! Why are you laughing?"

It was just then Temari came strolling up behind Kankuro with a displeased look on her face and a few sandwiches in her arms. I laughed harder.

"Why–" He saw the sandwiches and his eyes widened. "Are those safe to eat?"

"Probably not." I answered. "Who knows how long those have been there. No one buys premade food at this store. It's bad enough already when it isn't a few days old."

Temari looked horrified. "Are there any other stores nearby?"

I glanced at the clock again. "There are, but they're closing up already." I walked up the cashier who was glaring at me. He wanted to close up the store. I looked back at Kankuro and Temari who were standing in the same place, unsure what to do. "Are you coming or not?"

"Huh?" They said as the cashier rang my food through the check out.

"You need to eat." I said. "You can't expect not to eat this week." The cashier handed me my bag and shooed us out. As we left the store I shoved the bag in Kankuro's arms.

He gave me a confused look. "You did say you were just here to carry stuff." I pointed at the two siblings. "I bought the food, so you can cook it. I doubt Gaara would trust me to cook his food anyway."

They looked at me in awe. Temari then gave me a glare. "We don't want to owe you any favors."

"I never said you would have to. Besides, it's been a boring day for me and I've never had people over at my apartment before. And like I said, you guys are cooking the food."

Temari relaxed a little. "What's your address?"

I told her.

"Okay," she said. "Kankuro you carry the groceries and go with her. I'll go find Gaara."

* * *

I sat with my arms folded on my kitchen table with the side of my head resting on top of them. I was watching Temari and Kankuro cook. They seemed to be arguing about something.

"JUN!" Temari suddenly shrieked and I jumped. She gestured to the cupboards. "What can we use?"

"Anything you want. I don't really care." I mumbled and yawned.

"See, Kankuro. I _told _you."

They went back to their chaotic cooking. Gaara tried to help at first. He gave up. I didn't blame him. I wasn't sure even Kankuro and Temari knew what they were cooking. Now he just stared awkwardly at the wall. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, curious.

"Thank you." I said suddenly. I couldn't leave it alone. I had to say _something_ and get it off my chest.

"For what?" He said evenly.

"Taking me back to my room during the exams." I blushed a little, still embarrassed. God, why did I have to bring it up?

He blinked a few times. "It… was no problem." He went back to staring at the wall.

I glanced towards Kankuro and Temari who were still running around. At least they looked like they actually had some sort of food started. I saw some rice cooking and they had a few pans full of stuff. I didn't really care what it was. It did smell pretty good though.

I turned my head back towards Gaara and started to say something and then decided not to. I looked back towards the two. Not another word was said between us two before the food came. Kankuro was balancing a few plates on his hands and put them on the table. Temari brought a few more and some chopsticks. I looked at my food. It was vegetable fried rice with some pork on the side. They also made some tea.

We began to eat and for the first time since everyone was in my small apartment was it completely quiet. I had to restrain myself from eating too quickly. It was _really _good. By the time I was finished I was extremely tired.

I yawned. "If you want, you could meet me outside the supermarket we were at. Let's see… at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. I could show you a few decent places to get food."

Kankuro grinned. "That would be great."

The siblings got up and thanked me before leaving.

* * *

For the rest of the week I trained every day, fine tuning a few of my techniques in preparation for my fight against Kankuro. Occasionally, I also went to eat a meal with the sand siblings at one of the restaurants I showed them. Gaara and I didn't exchange any words, but I was starting to feel more comfortable around him, despite how awkward he was. He seemed to be more relaxed around me than before as well. Then day came when it was once again time for the exams. I headed off to them, having taken the previous day off of training.

I bounded through the arena doors and grinned at Kankuro.

"Well, let's go." He said as he walked towards the center of the arena. I followed after him. I looked at the bleachers. They were all filled with spectators. Some were not from the Leaf Village. It looked like the Hokage was drawing a lot of money out of these exams.

Kankuro and I faced each other as our names were announced to the spectators.

I looked at the person who was going to supervise our fight. "Kakashi?"

He nodded towards me and pulled his forehead protector up, revealing his sharingan. He folded his arms. "You may begin."

**Author's Note: **I don't want to rush any conversations with Gaara. Don't worry, you will get some after the exams. Please review or send me a message with some feedback.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Next Round**

"You may begin."

Kankuro didn't hesitate and immediately brought out Crow.

I grinned at him. "Don't expect me to show any mercy."

"Likewise," he murmured as he concentrated on me.

The tension made the air so thick; you probably could have cut it with a knife. I grinned and curled the fingers on my left hand. No, not yet. I would leave that for a surprise. I speculated, looking up at Kankuro. It seemed as if he was going to wait for me to make the first move. That was fine for me. I knew his abilities… or most of them, I was sure he had developed more that I didn't know about. He had crow out so far and I made a guess that what was strapped to his back was Black Ant. Attacking him straight forward would be useless, since he would just use the puppets to intersect me. I would have to eliminate the puppets some way so I could get to him. Once the puppets were done for, it would be game over for him.

I made up my mind and made a shadow clone. We charged forward and the crowd cheered, excited that the show was finally getting started. I left my clone to deal with Crow. I headed directly towards Kankuro who smiled. I spun and aimed a kick directly at his face, prepared to evade Black Ant if I needed to.

I really should have figured. What I expected to happen, was not what happened at all. My eyes watered as smoke exploded in my face and my foot felt heavy. When the smoke thinned enough I could see why. One of Crow's blades was impaled through the bottom of my left foot and crow hovered only a few feet away from me. How did it get there so fast?

I felt my shadow clone disappear and my eyes widened. What the hell was going? I couldn't _see._

Crow lurched towards me suddenly and I flipped back onto my left hand and then back onto my right foot. I was a difficult maneuver to pull off with two useless limbs, but I managed. That is, until something slammed into me from behind. _Black Ant. _

_Shit._ It enclosed around me and there was nothing but darkness, except for thin slivers of light from holes where Crow's blades would impale me in any second. I doubt I would be able to do too much with my useless leg and arm. I had no choice then, but I had to time it right.

I looked out of one of the holes. The blades were busy lining up to strike. I still had some time. I formed a circle with my palms to help with visualization. I gathered my wind chakra and pressurized it in that one spot. It was almost more than I could contain.

The blades were coming. Not yet, I kept telling myself. I waited until the very second they had just begun to enter Black Ant. It was better than getting impaled, but still, this was going to hurt.

_**BOOM.**_

My ears wouldn't stop ringing. My whole body hurt. I looked down at my foot. It seemed the blade had been forced out of it by the explosion. It dripped blood. At least it didn't do too much more damage to my foot. I would definitely need a new cast for my arm though.

The smoke cleared and I saw Kankuro with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Sorry," I said. "I destroyed your puppets." I put my left foot on the ground and tested some weight on it. It hurt like a bitch, but I only needed it for a few seconds. I willed for it to last me at least that much.

I charged forward, limping slightly and lunged with a left punch. He blocked, but I immediately landed a kick into his ribs, feeling one or two of them break. I would have gotten him to forfeit, like my previous opponent. But, he never would. I punched with my left arm again as he collapsed to his knees, knocking him out.

"Jun is the victor." Kakashi announced. A medical team came to take Kankuro and me away to the infirmary. I wasn't very pleased I was missing watching a fight, but I seriously needed to be looked at.

* * *

I didn't get to see Neji and Temari's fight. Neji was victor. Sakura briefed me on the battle. Apparently Temari had the advantage in the beginning. However, when Neji managed to shorten the range between them, she couldn't use her movements to their full extent. Neji kept shortening the distance until he ended up hitting a number of her chakra points. Kakashi ended the fight when he determined Temari was no longer fit to continue. Both Neji and she were taken to the infirmary.

I sat quietly and waited for Lee and Shino's fight. Sakura was quiet too. It never occurred to me before, but I guess she was worried about her fight with Gaara.

She looked over at me as if suddenly realizing something. "Your foot," she said.

I blinked. "Oh, surprisingly it isn't that bad. There is some muscle damage, but luckily it is mostly tissue. I'm supposed to stay off of it so I don't tear anything anymore." I sighed. I was really getting injured in these exams. I was kind of embarrassed. The opponents weren't even that difficult to beat, no offense to Kankuro. He actually did a pretty good job.

I shifted uneasily. I would be fighting Neji in a week. How would I pull it off with my leg and arm…?

I was distracted as I noticed Shino and Lee making their way to the arena. The crowd cheered.

As soon as the go was given, Lee charged in, trying to close the distance between Shino and he. Shino leapt back quickly, sending a wave of bugs at Lee. Lee was a flash as he disappeared from one spot to the next. I was surprised Shino was able to keep up as he sent assault after assault of insects.

"Who do you think is going to win?" I asked Sakura.

She was biting her nails. "Lee, I think. He hasn't shown anything, yet. He may be saving more for his next fight."

I nodded to myself. If Sakura was so confident about it, then it had to be true. I shifted my eyes back to the fight. Now that I knew the outcome it would hardly be enjoyable. I should have thought about that before asking.

Lee was picking up speed. He was closing the distance. He finally got close enough to throw a kick at Shino. Shino easily blocked it. It seemed he wasn't too bad a taijutsu either. Shino was doing very well. He kept using his insects to distract and slow down Lee's movements enough that he could block them and land a few of his own. But, I could tell he was getting tired. Once I thought about it… Lee didn't look too good either. He was gasping for air.

"So you finally realized…" Shino said and I strained to hear.

"When did you…?" Lee asked.

"You may not have made contact with my insects directly, but," Shino held up the arm he used to block Lee's kick in the beginning of the battle. "You made contact with me. It's only a matter of time now."

Lee babbled something about winning and something about youth that I didn't quite hear, or really cared to.

Lee and Shino carried on. It was obvious who was tiring quicker. Soon, Lee hit Shino solidly alongside the head and he went down. A medical team carried him off and Lee was determined the victor.

I leaned back into my seat as Sakura stood nervously to go to her match.

"Good luck." I said with a grin.

"Great. I'll definitely need it." She muttered and made her way down to the arena. I saw her fasten her pink hair back and pull on her gloves.

I watched as Gaara appeared facing her in the arena. I cast a glance at Kakashi's face. He hid it well, but I could tell he was worried about his student. I just hoped he wouldn't prematurely call the fight. I shook my head. Kakashi would never do that.

"Finally." I said as Kankuro sat down next to me. "I was beginning to think you would miss your brother's fight."

"Nah." He said.

"How's the head?" I smirked. "And ribs?"

He glared. "Hurts like hell." He breathed out and closed his eyes. "And your foot?"

"Won't be healed in time for my next fight, but there is no permanent damage. Pretty minimal considering the blade went through. I was lucky."

"That's good." He focused his eyes on the arena. "They're starting."

Much to my surprise, Sakura ran towards Gaara with a determined look on her face. His eyes widened, but he got into a stance as his sand slowly circled around him. She neared closer to him and her eyes narrowed in concentration. She gathered her chakra in her jumping foot and then suddenly disappeared.

Gaara went flying backwards, just able to move his arms to guard across his chest. Kankuro's mouth dropped open when Gaara smashed into one of the arena's walls, making it crack and dust fill the one side of the arena.

I chuckled at his expression. "Don't underestimate my teammate."

Though I had to admit, I underestimated Sakura too. Her chakra control was much better than I thought. She had some serious power in that punch of hers.

Sakura stood back at the centre of the arena with Kakashi, who still hadn't picked his jaw off the ground. She was watching the dust warily, waiting. Her eyes widened suddenly and she jumped away from the spot she just was as a massive sand claw reached up to grab her. She continued to dodge it as it came after her.

Gaara emerged from the dust, breathing heavily as his sand armor repaired itself around his arms and chest. He coughed up a little blood. It looked like he hadn't made it out completely unharmed.

Sakura gritted her teeth as the hand caught her ankle. She gathered chakra in her hand and hit it, breaking up the particles enough to slip her foot away and land a few meters away from Gaara. They stared at each other for a few seconds, breathing hard. The crowd cheered.

Sakura shot forward again, rolling around the sand Gaara threw at her. This time she threw a kick and Gaara ducked under it and swept out her leg. His sand rushed towards her again as she sprung up and flipped out of the way.

She looked Gaara in the eye from her kneeling position.

_**Thump. Thump. ThumpThumpThump…**_

Sand rained down from the sky and Sakura gasped as one of the balls hit her shoulder. Gaara used the distraction to wrap a sand claw around her. I saw her struggle to move her arms and legs.

She sighed. "I forfeit."

Gaara immediately released her and Kankuro who was on the edge of his seat rushed down to check on Gaara. I guessed I should have headed down too, so I did. I hopped on one foot and made my way down to Sakura who had a medical ninja relocating her shoulder. Kankuro looked worried as Gaara gingerly touched his ribs and winced.

I looked back at Sakura. "Good fight. How do you feel?"

"Not too bad, actually. My only injury was my shoulder." She sighed. "I wish I could have made it last longer, but as soon as he got that hand around me it was over."

I scanned around as the exam's next date and time were announced to the spectators, who were already steadily filing out of the arena.

Sakura smiled and waved. I waved back and then hopped over to Kankuro and Gaara.

"So," I said. "Damage report?"

Gaara blinked as Kankuro answered. "…a few broken ribs, nothing that needs surgery though. They're taking care of the worst of it with medical ninjutsu right here."

A medical ninja came up and asked Gaara to lie on the ground as he worked on his chest. As I hopped out of the way, I tripped and Kankuro had to grab my arm to steady me.

"Thanks." I muttered and he laughed.

"Do you need help getting home?"

"No, I can manage." I grinned. "I'll take that as my cue to leave. See you in a week then."

They both nodded to me as I ungracefully hopped off.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm really excited for writing the next chapter. It'll probably come out some time around Monday. I look forward to it and I hope you do too!


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** I got too excited about writing this chapter and finished it early. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 12: Summons**

I felt pitiful. I moved using one crutch. Honestly, I was easier for me to move without it, but I just couldn't stand people who kept offering me help. So I walked with the crutch.

I limped my way to my training area. I wasn't allowed to, or able to train. I ended up sitting lazily on a log and gazed up at the clouds. I felt a raindrop hit my nose and I shot up onto one foot.

Shit. I couldn't get my bandages wet. I rushed into the forest and used the trees for cover the best I could. I cursed out loud. It still wasn't good enough. I headed into the thicker part of the woods in search for better cover.

I slipped on the muddied ground and rolled it off. I didn't want to break my other arm. Then I really would be useless. I sat on the ground for a few seconds and whipped the mud of my face the best I could while keeping my one leg and arm off the ground.

It was a downpour. I _needed_ better cover. I glanced around desperately.

A cliff. I saw a solid rock face through the rain and I ran, or rather limped and stumbled, towards it. I followed the wall of rock until I came to a sharp overhang which I ducked under.

As I moved farther underneath, I realized it wasn't an overhang, but a cave, which had a small stream of water flowing steadily from the opening. I walked to the right of the stream, curiosity having gotten the better of me. I ran my hand along the side of the stone tunnel as I trailed further into the cave. It was getting considerably darker, but I could still see clearly, besides, I only had to follow the stream back outside. It didn't get any darker. I heard a dripping sound and realized why. There were numerous holes in the cave's 'roof' which the rain was dripping through. The dim light was enough to just let me see in cave.

Soon, I noticed, the quality of the light started to change. Light from the outside created a gray light on the inside. However, the deeper I went into the cave, the more the light changed into a strange luminescent blue-green. Intrigued, despite what all common sense told me to do, I continued deeper.

I began to feel a familiar feeling, but I paid it no mind.

Eventually I came to a cavern, where I saw the source of the strange light. There were almost a dozen nearly perfect spheres attached to the floor. I gazed around in awe. They were beautiful. And they were _big._ And when I say big, I mean, big. I walked up to one and it was taller than I was. I glanced around the cavern. All these balls were probably the same size, and based on how tiny some of the others looked… this cavern had to be massive.

I went c loser to the ball next to me and reached my hand out to touch it. Was it a jewel of some sort? I had never seen or read about anything like it. I examined it carefully. It was luminous, but now that I was close up I could see its centre was actually quite dark, almost like it had something in it. I was just about to touch the sphere when that dark centre moved.

I stumbled back and landed flat on my ass. I didn't move until the thing in sphere settled down and stopped moving. I hardly breathed. I needed to get out and yet I couldn't move. Would my stumbling around alert whatever was in the sphere?

I froze even more, if that was possible. I had no idea where the entrance to the cavern was. I was too engrossed in the luminous spheres to take any note. And the size of the cavern… I couldn't even see the walls. How would I know if I was headed in the right direction?

I forced myself to calm down. _Focus._

When I came to the cavern I went immediately to the nearest sphere. Therefore, the entrance should be in the direction opposite to the majority of the balls. I strained to remember the exact placement of the balls when I entered the room, but it was no use.

I gathered my resolve and backed away from the sphere slowly. I stopped. I knew what the feeling I had was earlier. Why didn't I pay attention? I was a ninja and an experienced thief. I, of all people, should know when I was being watched. I struggled not to hyperventilate. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

I heard a scuffling in the direction I was backing into, just before I bumped into something hard, irregular and _hairy_, that I knew, had not been there a few seconds ago. In that moment, I heard the most terrifying sound. It was something between a growl and a hiss and vibrated all the way down my spine.

_Fuck not tearing my foot up._ I dashed to the side, ignoring the pain. I ran and heard the scuffling close behind me. Despite being injured, I was not slow by any means. Whatever the hell that thing was, it was seriously fast. I tried to push myself faster and almost ran directly into the cavern wall. My eyes widened and I desperately kicked upwards, using my chakra to stick my feet to the wall, and eventually on the ceiling. Once I no longer heard the movements of the thing, I stopped moving to catch my breath and strained to hear where it was.

I heard the hissing growl again. Right next me. On the ceiling.

"FUCK!" I screamed and dropped back down to the floor. I ran. I didn't really care exactly where I was going. I just wanted to get away. As I ran my right shoulder clipped a wall and pain sprang down my broken arm. My momentum carried me forward and my nose gushed blood as my face struck the ground. I struggled to get up and I reached my arms out to grab anything to help me get up. I slowly realized my hands were brushing up against two walls. _I was back in the tunnel._

I sighed in relief and continued forward quickly and away from the cavern. My relief was short lived as I noticed it getting darker down the tunnel. Soon, all light disappeared. That wasn't right. I supposed to be able to see. There were supposed to be holes in the ceiling.

The sudden realization hit me. _I was in a different tunnel._ I had no clue where I was going. For all I knew, I could be heading deeper into the earth.

I shook my head. I had to try. This tunnel was better than that cavern. Whatever was in there didn't seem to be able to follow me into the tunnel. Maybe it couldn't fit. I really hoped it couldn't.

I continued forward. I felt water drip on my left shoulder and a grin flow to my face. I wasn't heading deeper into the ground. I looked up, expecting the see the sky through a hole in the ceiling.

That wasn't what I saw. That wasn't what I saw at all. I looked up and saw a glowing eye. No, there was more. There were six of them and they were all focused on me. The spot where the liquid hit me began to burn and feel numb. I heard that horrible sound and fell backwards. It was in my way. I couldn't go further down the tunnel. I couldn't go back to the cavern either. I was trapped.

I struggled to get up, but my arm wouldn't listen to me. It was completely numb. I couldn't feel it. Worse yet, the feeling was radiating down my whole body. I tried to pick myself up with my broken arm and hissed in pain as I desperately tried to force my body to move. I couldn't move at all.

I wasn't even unconscious when I felt many rough appendages roll my body in some sort of sticky material.

…

I didn't know what time I woke up. To my surprise I was still alive. I struggled to move my limbs. It was difficult, but I managed to move my left arm a little. It seemed whatever had landed on my skin, poison or venom maybe, seemed to have worn off. Eventually I forced my left hand into my sweater, where I kept my short sword strapped to my chest. I wiggled it out of its sheath and began to inch it out with my fingertips. The blade often slipped and cut my fingers and chest deeply. The blood made the blade slippery and my job only got harder. I twisted the blade so that it was braced up against my cast. I hoped it would hold out against the blade long enough to cut through the material wrapped around me. I wiggled the blade, mimicking a sawing motion. The blade was cutting into fabric, but it was taking time. Not to mention the slippery blade would sometimes shift on my cast and cut into it. I stifled a gasp as it cut into my arm. I gritted my teeth. Just a little more…

The blade broke through and I slipped my arms out after it, tearing apart the material the best I could. It stuck to my body and especially my wounds. I looked around and realized I could see. The light was blue-green. Horror filled me. I was back in the cavern. I scanned the cavern closely. For now, I couldn't see anything.

Somehow, I managed to free myself from the material. I looked at it. It seemed to be some type of thread.

Now, _how in the hell was I going to get out of here?_

"_What is your business here?_" A booming voice demanded.

"W-what?" I muttered, surprise.

"_Did you have some purpose in finding this place?"_ The voice growled.

"N-no. I- There was a storm. I. I took cover in the cave." I clenched my mouth shut and took a deep breath.

A figure moved into my view and I stared at it with wide eyes. I saw so many menacing eyes. Twenty? Thirty? Maybe more? It had a pair of monstrous pointed fangs which dripped with saliva. Its eight legs spanned incredibly far from its body.

Spider. It was a spider.

"You don't seem to be lying." It said, examining my face closely.

"I apologize." I whispered. "I did not realize that I was intruding…"

It made a grumbling sound and laid its body on the ground. I paused and then followed suit. It wasn't like I could run anyway.

"It had been many, many years since I have seen a human like you. Your eyes hold a certain darkness to them. They remind me of our eyes."

Except I didn't have so many of them. I kept my mouth shut. The spider made a sound which grated at my ears. I realized it was laughing and I blinked in shock.

"I've decided to let you live. The way you sit there expressionless reminds me of my late mother. Consider yourself lucky, any human that walks into this cave system ends up as our food. That is, after we are done playing with them."

We sat there in silence for a while. I began to feel lightheaded from blood loss.

I shifted uneasily. "Um… would you mind if I tended to my wounds?" I asked nervously.

"Go right ahead child. I will not bite." More laughing came from its mouth.

I pulled out my kit and dumped my sweater on the ground. The spider looked at my scars curiously. I began working on the wounds on my chest first, which were bleeding heavily. I began to stitch them after swabbing the area and my hands with antiseptic. I did the same to my hands and my foot, which had reopened. Next I cut off the remainder of my cast and stitched the wound there. I then wrapped my injures in gauze and put my clothing back on.

"Child?" I glanced up to see the spider hooking something off of one of its back legs. "I have given this some thought, and I think I would like you to have this." It handed a scroll to me.

"A summoning scroll?" I murmured, opening it.

"Yes. These caves do get boring after a while. My family and I would like to make a contract with you." The spider said.

I pulled the scroll open and placed it in front of myself. "Is there any… conditions?" I asked, suspicious.

"That either party may end the contract at any point. Oh! And if you have no use for an enemy after dispatching them," the spider drooled. "We wouldn't mind some fresh meat."

I nodded to myself. I could do that. I bit my thumb and squeezed it to draw enough blood to write my name on the scroll. The spider sighed.

"Follow me." It said.

I did. It led me to a tunnel and I looked at it as it stopped.

"I believe this is the tunnel you entered through, Child. If you follow it, it should lead you back to your home. Do come and visit us soon." It moved backwards into the cavern as I thanked it and turned to walk up the tunnel.

By the time I reached the surface the sun was up. I basked in its warmth and put my hand on the caves opening, smiling. I couldn't believe I was alive! And beyond that, I had managed to get a summoning.

I climbed a tree to get my location and map it out mentally. Once I was sure I wouldn't forget the location of the cave, I headed back towards the village to go to the hospital. I hoped they wouldn't force me to stay there. I grinned. After all, the next part of the chuunin exams was just a few days away. And I had a lot of training to do with my summonings if I expected to win.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Semi Finals**

Neji looked at me skeptically as I hopped into the arena. He gave Kakashi a '_are you fucking shitting me'_ look. Kakashi turned to me to give me the same look and I grinned and winked back.

Kakashi sighed. "You may begin."

I immediately bit into my thumb deeply and began making hand signs as Neji jumped backwards.

"Summoning jutsu!" I shouted. There was a poof of smoke and when it disappeared… nothing. "Shit."

Neji chuckled and began strolling up to me. "Looks like you haven't perfected that yet. Forfeit. You are in no condition to fight."

I tilted my head and grinned. "Why? Do you have any qualms about injuring your allies?" I pulled a kunai out of my pouch and began to spin it around my finger.

His lips tightened and he narrowed his eyes. Finally I got what I was waiting for. As Neji blinked I threw the kunai. I saw surprise on his face as it left a thin cut across his cheek and hit the ground behind him. I already had another out and was twirling it.

"It looks like I underestimated you." He said lightly.

"People surprising do that rather often." I muttered and pouted a little.

Neji activated his byakugan. Too bad, it was too late for him already.

"Let us get started then." He said and began to move forward.

"I started a long time ago. The question is whether you can catch up."

He charged up and began to try to hit my chakra points. I focused completely on dodging. I wasn't like I could, or needed to do anything else anyway. He was fast, but he didn't have as much battle experience as I did. It was rather easy to read his moves. To my surprise, he wasn't getting frustrated that he couldn't hit me.

Finally, he got a strange look on his face and jumped away from me.

I grinned evilly. "It looks like it has finally started to kick in."

He touched his hand to his cheek. "What did you put on that kunai?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just a numbing agent. That isn't what I would be worried about though."

His face was contorted in pain. "What?"

"Well I had to make sure you wouldn't notice my little friend. After all, she can't defend herself very well." I held my finger out towards him. On it was my summoning: a very small, black spider. I smiled. "Shizu may be very tiny, but her venom is quite potent."

Neji's eyes widened as his legs gave out on him. He writhed in pain on the ground.

"I would say without the anitidote, you have… hmm… about ten minutes to live. The antidote needs five minutes to take effect though, so being realistic, in five minutes you would be screwed." I continued as I crouched down next to Neji, "Does it hurt? The pain will only get worse the longer you wait." I brushed his hair out of his face and examined the spider bite on his cheek. "Forfeit. The longer you wait the more likely you are to die." I paused, looking at him. "Are you even listening to what I am saying?"

"Ye-Yes." He managed to choke out before gasping in pain.

"Then what is your answer?"

"…I… forfeit."

"Good choice." I pulled a vial out of my pouch. "Open up!" I said with glee as I dumped the contents down his throat. He coughed and I held his mouth shut to make sure he completely swallowed every drop.

"Jun is the victor." Kakashi said and the crowd booed. I guess they didn't like my antics.

I took my place on the benches next to Kankuro who shifted away from me.

"Should I be worried?"

"Only if you piss me off." I said with a grin.

He shuddered and diverted his attention back to the arena, where his brother was about to begin his fight. And I gave my attention to the small spider on my arm.

"You are dismissed. That is, if you don't want to watch the fight." Shizu crawled up onto my shoulder. I guess she did.

Gaara and Lee faced each other. I knew they had fought in the previous exam and that Lee was so injured that he almost died. I guess it didn't help that Gaara had tried to kill him in the hospital after their match as well. I wonder how this fight would go. I looked at Guy, Lee's teacher, expecting him to look nervous. Instead he just grinned and gave Lee a thumbs up.

I turned my attention back to the fight that just begun. Lee was doing all the attacking. Gaara's sand was defending perfectly and he was standing in one spot with his arms crossed. My eyebrows raised as Lee's strikes sped up more. Eventually he sped up enough that he was able to penetrate Gaara's shield. I jerked forward, surprised and Kankuro chuckled.

"That isn't going to work on him this time around."

Gaara now moved his entire body, ducking and fading out of the way of Lee's movements. Kankuro was smiling wide.

"Something he has been working on lately?" I asked.

"Yeah, he needs to be more able to defend himself against people who can bypass his shield."

I watched the fight diligently, knowing that in the finals, I would have to fight one of them. This fight would determine who it would be. I watched as Gaara lashed out with his sand, striking Lee away from him. He would be a difficult opponent. I had to be able to find a way through the sand. But, even if I was able to get past it, I would have to deal with Gaara. Beyond that, I would have to constantly defend myself from his sand, which could attack from any direction. Then there was Lee, he only had taijutsu, but because off his excellence, he would still be a difficult opponent. Gaara would be a far more difficult battle, and in the end, looking at how this fight was going, I was probably going to have to face him.

I bit my lip and leaned forward. How would I get past his sand? I suppose, one way or the other, I would have to rely on my wind chakra. Like Sakura who used precise chakra control to made her movements faster and stronger, I could use my chakra in the same way. I could use it to go fast, or cut straight through objects, or like in Kankuro's battle I could create an explosion.

Creating wind took a lot of my concentration though. I wouldn't be able to do it for too long. To create it I had to change air pressure. Air naturally flows from a high pressure system to a low pressure system, creating wind. Depending on the difference in pressures, the wind could be weak or strong. To make a cutting motion, I had to have a thin slit of very low pressure and an area of high pressure at one side, depending on which direction I wanted to strike. The explosion I did during Kankuro's fight was easy in comparison. All I had to do was create a single, small area of very high pressure and then allow it to burst outwards. To use my chakra to go faster was very difficult. I had to use the wind I create to propel my body forward. One wrong move and I could tear my body apart.

I sighed. At least my arm and leg would be healed enough to actually use them in the finals.

Lee was looking pretty beat up, Gaara on the other hand, was hardly hurt at all. I watched as his sand connected with Lee's head, knocking him unconscious. Gaara was determined the winner. Kankuro cheered.

So, I would be fighting him. I wonder if I would win. It was going to be a challenge, that was for sure.

Gaara joined Kankuro and I up on the bleachers.

"Congratulations," I said. "I look forward to our battle in two weeks."

Gaara nodded to me and then turned towards Kankuro, who was grinning like an idiot and patting Gaara on the shoulder to offer his own congratulations. I smiled at the two of them. I stood up to leave the arena.

* * *

I thought Tsunade was getting annoyed with me. After all, I kept going to the hospital to get extra treatments on my arm and leg. I ended up getting less training done, but having my body in good condition was more important. Sakura seemed happy I finally realized that.

It was finally the day before the exam. I was sitting on my log, meditating. I wasn't very good at it. I found it difficult to not move around. Every time I tried to focus on not moving, my nose would start to get itchy. It annoyed me to no extent.

I cursed and laid on my back and closed my eyes.

Shortly, I was jolted awake by a sharp pain on the side of my neck. I gasped, sitting up immediately, thinking it was just another ant that bit me.

I was wrong. Piercing blue eyes sparkled with amusement. I would know those eyes anywhere.

"Kana. Kana. Kana." Kane scolded. "You let down your guard. I thought you would have known better. You should have remembered the organization never just lets anyone leave. Especially someone as powerful as you." He smiled cruelly.

"Fuck you." I whispered, trying to stagger to my feet, only to fall to my knees before Kane.

He sighed and crouched down next to me, holding an empty needle in his one hand. I feebly swung at him.

He laughed. "Look at you now. A little sedative and the famous Kana is useless." He snarled, "You are coming with me." He grabbed my hair and dragged me forward and drove his knee into my stomach. I coughed, choking up blood.

I mustered up what strength I had left and sliced Kane across the chest with my short sword. His blood sprayed across a broken tree to his left. I saw him drop the needle to the ground as his hand went to his chest. He looked up to glare at me, running his bloodied hand through his blonde hair. I collapsed completely on the ground. I felt a sharp pain in my side as Kane kicked me.

"You _bitch_." He kicked me again. And again. All I could do was curl up into a ball and try to protect my internal organs from his assault.

By the time he was done I was almost sure all my ribs were broken and my whole body was made of pain. He sighed and threw me over his shoulder. I gasped in agony.

"Don't be such a baby, Kana. Has all of this ninja business turned you soft?" He snorted. "Don't worry, you will be back to your old self soon enough, as soon as the leaders are through with you." He was grinning now. "I wonder… what punishment they will choose for you this time?"

His voice faded off as he listed the possibilities. That was okay, I didn't want to hear them anyway. I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, and eventually I couldn't even feel the pain anymore. I faded into the darkness of my unconsciousness.

* * *

When I woke up my world was still dark. I should have figured. Despite how cocky Kane was, I knew he was afraid of my eye technique. He tied fabric around my eyes. I tried to move my limbs and snarled. All four of them were tied together behind my back and based on the pain, he must have broken each one so I couldn't get away.

"So you're finally awake?" Kane mocked.

I felt something metal touch my lips and I jerked away.

He grabbed my chin. "Relax. It's just water." He forced open my mouth and poured some down my throat as I choked and sputtered. "The leaders would kill me if I let you die. Now, stay here," He laughed. "I need to go get more water."

I heard his footsteps leave. I wiggled my hands so that the rope was looser around them. I took a deep breathe. I had very little time. I bit the inside of my cheek, hard enough to draw blood and let it drip on the ground. I shifted so I could dip my thumb in it. I formed the hand signs the best I could.

"Summoning Jutsu." I whispered.

There was a small poof and suddenly Shizu appeared.

"Shizu." I said desperately. "I don't have much time. Please, help me," I gasped out. "I need you to somehow get one of your siblings to notify the Leaf Village of my location here."

I heard footsteps approach me and quieted. I hoped Shizu would find some way to help me, quickly.

"Well, shall we get moving again? We're almost there now." He chortled.

I sent one last, silent prayer to Shizu before Kane once again threw me over his shoulder.

I didn't know how long he ran for. I was too distracted by the pain I felt in my chest every time Kane took a step and his shoulder collided with my ribs. I think he was doing it on purpose.

Suddenly he stopped. I froze. This was it.

"Welcome home," Kane said gleefully.

**Author's Note:** I don't know if you can tell, but I was really excited to write this chapter too. So, are you disappointed Jun will miss her fight with Gaara? For those of you who are, just wait…

Anyway! Please send some feedback my way!


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** Warning: this chapter gets kind of gory.

**Chapter 14: Home**

Darkness and pain: my companions.

How long had I been here? An hour? A day? A week? More? It didn't matter, because they weren't done with me yet. Would they ever be? How long could they possibly punish me for?

The stickiness of my own blood, the smell of my own burnt flesh, and the burning pain of my wounds were enough to drive a normal person crazy. These things were my companions; I had grown up with them. The scrapping of my nail-less fingers against the cold, hard floor and the sharpness of my broken bones … these were all things I was used to.

A heard a door open. Were they back for another round?

"When I was wondering what type of punishment you would get, I didn't imagine all of the above." Kane's voice continued as it came closer towards me. "Though I guess you did deserve it. You should have never left, Kana."

"So you keep saying." I rasped.

"Here," there was a smile in his voice. He draped me over his lap not all that gentle and touched his canteen to my lips. The water stung as it went down my throat, but I drank, knowing I would need the fluids if I wanted to live.

"The leaders say they're done with you. Seems your punishment is over. One wrong move and you will be back in this room. Or worse. Do you understand?"

"…yes."

"That's good." I felt him reach around my head and untie my blindfold. I blinked hard against the sudden brightness. "Now, let's get you cleaned up."

I gritted my teeth as he stitched my wounds, re-set my bones and put ointment on my various burns. Afterwards, he took me to a room to rest. At that point I didn't even care.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next two days. I wondered if anyone was coming for me.

Kane came in my room occasionally to force me to drink and eventually to eat, though I wasn't given any solids. I probably couldn't have kept them down anyway.

I didn't even bother to try to move. I knew better. Too many off my bones were broken and I didn't want any more pain.

I lazily let my eyes trace along the ceiling. It looked like earth. I guessed I was underground. I felt movement on the edge of my bed and turned my head just enough to see Kane there.

"What do you want?" I murmured.

"Oh, I just came to say hi. I haven't seen you in so long. I missed your company."

"Bullshit."

He sighed. "Kana, always so rude… and so perceptive."

"Why do you find the need to keep bothering me?" I snarled.

"Hey, now. Don't be so mean. I'm the one who is keeping you alive right now." He brushed my hair off my cheek. "After all, it's not like you can take care of yourself."

I glared at him. "That's your fault, though."

He chuckled. "That may be true. I don't care if you hate me. Things are more fun when you're around."

"You're a crazy, sadistic fuck." I muttered.

"Don't pretend you're any different." He grabbed my face and looked into my eyes. "We are the same. That's why I like working with you."

"So that's your goal then."

"Hm." He twisted a lock of my hair around his finger. "You and I were the best, we were unstoppable. I want that again."

"I hate you." I glared at him.

"Likewise. But, you have to admit it, didn't you at least have a little fun while we worked together." He suddenly became angry. "You can't deny it. I see your face when you use your eyes. You like it. It makes you feel powerful. To reduce someone to a gibbering mess. You love the look of fear in their eyes."

I turned my head away from him and he sighed. "Fine, I'll come back later. Sleep well, Kana."

I wanted to say he was wrong, but I couldn't force the words out of my mouth. Despite all of the lies I've told through my life, I couldn't utter that one. I hated to admit it, but he was right. I enjoyed it. The terror people felt when I caught them in my jutsu. It made me feel powerful and I loved that feeling. Knowing this sickened me. I chocked back the bile that rose in my throat.

_I was an awful person._ What would the people at the Leaf Village think if they found out what I was truly like? They would abandon me out of fear. Just like my family. The only ones who ever accepted me was the organization. Maybe I belonged here. Maybe this sick, twisted, place from my nightmares was the only place I could truly call a home. I belonged in this despicable place, with these despicable people, because I was just like them. _Home._ By leaving, I only caused more trouble for myself.

I was drawn out of my thoughts as dirt fell on my face. I winced as a piece got in my eye.

I gaped as hole was carved into the ceiling. Through it, jumped Sakura, who was followed by Gaara. I guess he made the hole.

"Jun!" whispered Sakara desperately as she came to my side. "Shit. What the hell did they do to you?"

I didn't answer and just looked up at the ceiling. They actually came after me. Why?

"We're getting you out of here, don't worry. Gaara? Would you be able to lift her with your sand?"

He nodded.

"What's the point? They will just come after me again." I muttered.

Sakura looked fierce. "Then we will protect you. Now shut up and let your friends help you."

I didn't say anything more as Gaara's sand lifted me through the hole in the ceiling. Friends? That was right. I loved my time in the Leaf Village. Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Kankuro, and all of the people I met during my time there. I didn't want to lose all of that. When I was in the Leaf Village, for the first time in as long as I could remember, was I truly happy. I blinked and felt something wet run down my face.

I was crying. I never cried. I tried to reach up to whip the evidence away and winced as pain shot up my arm in protest. I managed to bring one arm up to cover my face and I bit my lip to keep it from trembling.

I felt myself gently being put on the ground. Sakura came over an gave me a small smile as she put her glowing, green hands over my body, searching for injuries. Her eyes widened and she looked up.

"We need to get her to the hospital immediately. Her injuries are severe." I heard the undertone of a growl in her voice.

"We can only make the trip back to the Leaf Village in two days at the least." Shikamaru said. "Will she make it?"

"Yes," Sakura said. "We should get moving, before they notice she is gone."

Shikamaru turned to Gaara. "How long can you keep her levitated with your sand?"

"As long as I need to," whispered Gaara.

"Good, then let's get a move on. Neji, take up the rear. Kankuro, you will be next in line. Sakura and Gaara will be in the centre with Jun. I will lead." Shikamaru said as he took off.

We traveled until the sun set. Gaara's sand carried me the whole time, like he said it would. They set up camp to rest for the night. Gaara took every look-out shift. The other four rotated on and off with him every two hours, so each would get a turn once.

I slept lightly all night, only awakening when I heard voices talking. Kankuro and Gaara were taking the first shift. Kankuro talked often, shifting back and forth between topics rapidly. I couldn't follow what he was saying, so I tried to drown him out. He kept going like that until Neji told him to shut up, followed by a mumbled agreement by Shikamaru. Apparently I wasn't the only one being kept up. Once Kankuro finally quieted, I was able to get some sleep.

* * *

I only awoke to the feeling of Gaara's sand picking me up begin moving me again.

"Wait." I mumbled.

The sand put me down and Sakura came rushing up to me.

"What is it Jun?" she asked, looking concerned.

"If anyone was sent after us it would be Kane," I began. "Kane wouldn't attack directly, especially with a group of this size. He would most likely only have two other people with him, but they shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. Kane probably spent the night setting traps for us. Please, be careful." I stopped, tired from speaking.

"Don't worry about us, we can handle it." Kankuro muttered. "Jeez."

The sand picked me up and we were moving again. We continued like that for a while longer. Suddenly, Neji told everyone to stop.

"There are three figures waiting for us in three hundred meters," he said.

"Gaara," Shikamaru ordered. "Stay here with Jun. Everyone else, let's go and investigate."

Everyone else ran off as Gaara's sand put me on the ground. He faced the direction they went with his arms crossed. I too looked in that direction, nervous.

A cyclone of fire erupted into the sky approximately three hundred meters away from us. I winced as the heat touched my injured skin. I saw Gaara grit his teeth. The fire swirled upwards, it looked like it wasn't going to die down. I hoped everyone was okay.

I briefly saw three figures immerge from the trees before sand encased my body. I heard explosions outside, and soon some of the sand around me was broken away and a hand reached in towards me and roughly grabbed my hair to drag me out. Gaara was facing Kane's two partners and his eyes widened as he saw me with Kane. He reformed the cocoon of sand and sent it in Kane and I's direction. Kane pulled me into the path of the sand, forcing Gaara to stop it. An explosion occurred to Gaara's left, forcing him to once again focus on his two opponents. Kane laughed, obviously enjoying himself. He held me tightly by the hair, so I could not turn around to face him.

"You disobeyed us once more, Kana. For your punishment, how about I let you watch your friends die?" He glanced towards the cyclone and then to Gaara.

I snarled. How dare he. I didn't have much time. If I waited too long, what he said could very well happen. I didn't want to risk that. I gathered my strength and ignoring the pain in my body, I twisted, feeling my scalp tear as my some of my hair was ripped from my head. Blood trickled down my face as I grabbed Kane's and looked directly into his eyes.

"So this is your fear? I must say I'm surprised, but it does make sense." I strolled up to Kane with a grin.

He glared at me and lunged forward, swinging at me with his right arm. I snapped the fingers on my left hand. He screamed in pain as the flesh on his arm began to melt away. I let it continue until there was nothing left up until his elbow. He was shaking and curled up into a ball, pulling his arm to his chest. I stepped onto his neck, choking him.

"You were right Kane. You know, I really do enjoy this type of thing. Now then, what shall I take next? Your leg? No. Too boring."

He groaned.

"Shut up!" I growled. I took my foot off his throat and smashed it into his face, flattening his nose. "I think I've decided. I'll take your tongue. Then your teeth. Then maybe I'll pour acid down your throat or gouge out your eyes. I haven't really decided yet." I stomped on his face again. "Now open up."

Once I was done I smiled down at him. Not like he could see me or anything. "Isn't it much nicer when you aren't screaming?" I sighed. "Silence is so lovely."

I poked him in the forehead. He began thrashing around as the skin there began to burn until it was black. The burn began to spread all the way down his body.

"Don't ever, ever, come after my friends or me again. Or," I said sweetly, "I will make your nightmare a thousand times worse."

I snapped my fingers again and suddenly we were back in the real world, my genjutsu having ended. Kane collapsed, screaming in pure terror and pain. Gaara and Kane's two partners jerked to face us. Gaara immediately used the distraction to take out his two opponents. I saw the cyclone of fire die off in the distance. One of them must have been controlling it. I collapsed forward and gasped in pain. I looked over to Kane who was staring blankly up at the sky, his skin covered in sweat.

I felt Gaara's sand move under me. "We need to go check on the others."

I nodded in agreement.

When we reached the area, I expected the damage to be worse. Instead, Shikamaru, Neji, Kankuro and Sakura were just treating minor burns.

Kankuro glanced up as Gaara entered with me. "Good job, little bro! I knew I could count on you!"

Gaara ignored him and placed me on the ground. "What was that?"

I swallowed. "It is an ability I was born with." I let my jutsu activate. I heard a few gasps and I knew they saw my eyes. My whole eyes, including the whites, turned black. Except for my iris, which stayed its usual red. "With this, I can see a person's greatest fear. These eyes also exponentially improve my genjutsu ability. Basically, I can make my opponent live their worst nightmare."

"Is that ability why you are so important to the organization?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." I whispered. What would they do now? Would they abandon me here?

"Jeez," Shikamaru said. "It would have been better if we knew that earlier. Don't keep stuff like that to yourself." He glared at me. "It could compromise a mission." I saw the others nod in agreement.

I blinked and Sakura laughed a little.

"Let's go home."

* * *

We didn't go back immediately. I reopened some of my wounds and blood was seeping through my bandages. On top of that, my scalp was still bleeding. Sakura unwrapped some of my wounds. She knew of the new damage because of her healing jutsu, but she had yet to see my scars. She froze and I knew she had seen them.

"Punishment," I said, "for disobeying the organization and its rules."

I saw her hands clench before she continued to unwrap some of my wounds. I glanced towards where the others were. I was sure she would tell them.

"You will need a couple months to recuperate. Even after then, you will probably have to go easy on training for a while." Sakura said.

I sighed. "I know."

The rest of our trip back to the village was uneventful. I was grateful. I knew Kane wouldn't be after me for a while. By the time he was I would be fully healed. He wouldn't attack me when I was at full strength, but I knew it was impossible to keep my guard up at all times. I _did _need to sleep. He would be back and definitely seeking revenge for what I did to him. I smiled internally, like I said, the next time, I would make his nightmare a thousand times worse.

I was jolted out of my thoughts as we reached the village gate. I was rushed into the hospital and had an I.V. put in my arm. I didn't know what it was; Sakura used some long medical term. But, oh boy, did it even make me feel good.

Kankuro came to visit before his team left for his village. For some reason he wouldn't stop laughing at me. Sakura ended up punching him and much to my disappointment, he left.

Eventually they took me off the I.V. and started to just give me pills. I was happy with that, the I.V. was annoying and would always poke me if I moved my arm.

I wasn't very happy when they took me off the pills. I had some major withdrawal symptoms. Sakura held my hair as I threw up in the toilet and I asked her to not let anyone visit me. If they did I might kill them by accident.

After the whole ordeal was over I was finally able to go on missions again. I couldn't wait to get my first one. I grinned as I headed off to Hokage's office.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: To the Sand**

I drove my fist into a tree. Again. Again. Again. I felt the knuckles on my hand break. I didn't care. Again. Again. Again. My chest heaved as tears streamed down my face and a strangled sob burst from my lips. Again. _Why. _Again. _Why did it have to turn out like this? _Again.

I fell to my knees and let my bloodied, swollen hand hit the ground. _Why? God damn it! Why?_

"There she is! Call in re-enforcements!" I voiced shouted from behind me.

Shit. I had to get up. I commanded my legs to move and yet they stuck to the ground. I would die if I didn't move.

I snarled. Damn them. I had no way to turn back. I whipped away my tears angrily.

"Jun," a hesitant voice said behind me.

No. Not her. "Sakura." I whispered and finally rose to my feet. I gathered my resolve and turned to face her. There was no room for error. There was no time for hesitation. I could not afford that. I had to keep moving on. I could do it.

"Is there something you have left to ask me? I'm in a hurry. Can't you tell?" I tilted my head to one side and smiled sweetly.

"Why?" She mumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sakura, I don't understand what you are trying to say. Spit it out and try to be more specific. Please?" I clenched my teeth together.

"Why?!" She screamed, "Why did you betray us?!"

"Betray you? What do you mean? I didn't betray you. I was never on your side in the first place." I laughed.

Sakura looked horrified. "I thought we were friends…"

"No. You were just foolish enough to trust me. For future reference…" I walked up to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "…never trust a thief."

I walked away, leaving my old friends and the Leaf Village behind me.

* * *

**One Year Earlier…**

"Congratulations!" Sakura screamed and tackled me.

I groaned as my back smacked against the ground.

"Get off, you're killing me!" I shouted.

"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." She let me up and then pulled me into a hug.

I sighed. "It isn't that big of a deal."

"Yes, it is! You're a Jounin!" She exclaimed. "We need to celebrate!"

"No. Let me sleep. I'm tired." I began to walk away and then stopped. "Wait, I'll take you up on that offer after all. Where are we going to go to?"

Sakura squealed. "I need to get Ino, Hinata and Tenten! Wait here!"

"Um, okay?" I stood in that spot waiting for Sakura. It only took three minutes for her to round the gang up. How? I don't know. It kind of scared me actually. "So where exactly are we going?"

"Wait. You will see." Sakura grabbed my right arm and Ino grabbed the other as they dragged me away.

Sakura ended up dragging me into some fancy restaurant. I gaped at the fancy booths and the fancy chairs and my god the carpet… was I even allowed walking on it?

"Calm down." Sakura said, "I'm treating you tonight."

"Hey, that's not – " I began, but a waitress came to lead us to our seat.

I found myself shifting around, uncomfortable in the booth. I glanced at Hinata. At least I wasn't the only one that was uncomfortable.

Sakura told me to choose what I wanted on the menu. I ended up going to the 'cheap' side. Just kidding. Nothing was cheap. Holy hell.

There wasn't even that much food for how much it cost. Not that I could complain. I wasn't paying. The food _was_ delicious though. When Sakura became a Jounin I would have to treat her as well. I sighed.

"So?" Sakura asked. "Are you taking any missions? Or are you taking some time off?"

"I have a mission."

Sakura blinked. "Already?"

"Yeah, Tsunade dumped one on me as soon as she announced my new ranking." I bit into my food and chewed.

"Harsh." Ino muttered. "When are you going?"

"In the morning… it may be a while until I'm back." I popped a shrimp in my mouth. That was the only reason I agreed to celebrate.

"How long?" said Tenten.

"As long as it takes, the mission doesn't really have a time limit."

"What exactly is the mission? Can you tell us?" Sakura pressed.

"Yes, I can. I'm going to the Sand Village to assist a mission there. There have been sudden increases in criminal activity in the area. I'm experienced in that area so…" I shrugged. "Gaara asked Tsunade to send me in to help. I'm being filled in on the details when I arrive."

I smiled to myself. I wondered how Gaara liked his new position as the Kazekage. And I bet Kankuro was even more excited than Gaara was. If Gaara ever actually did get excited that is.

"What time exactly are you leaving tomorrow?" said Sakura.

"I'll be at the gates by seven. Why? Seeing me off?"

"Yeah," she frowned. I guess she was upset another one of her friends were leaving her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can be, I promise. I'll tell you all about it when I get back."

We spent the rest of the meal talking about unimportant stuff. Well, unimportant to me. Sakura, Ino and Tenten ended up talking about boys most of the time, though Sakura didn't say too much. Poor Hinata was dragged in at the mention of Naruto. I _was _going to save her, I swear, but it was too amusing. They all knew better than try to get me in on that one particular conversation, so I was spared. Thank god.

By the time the celebration was done I was dead on my feet and wondering how in the hell I would be waking up the morning. I got to my apartment and cursed. I still had to clean up and pack. I groaned, wanting to leave it for the morning, but knowing I would never wake up early enough. I began the task with contempt.

* * *

Finally, the Sand Village. I was here on a mission once, back when I was with the organization. I probably shouldn't mention that. The guards at the gates welcomed me, saying they were expecting me. I hoped they would be. I didn't want to have to sneak in again.

I got an escort to the Kazekage's office. I had to admit, the village… was horrifically boring. Where was the colour!? And where the hell were my green trees!? I knew it was the desert, but did everyone have to wear such _dull_ colours? It was just like I remembered.

We made it to the Kage's office. The Jounin escort told me to wait by the door as he went into the office to announce my presence. I nodded to him as he motioned me to enter and then closed the door behind me.

A peeled off my hood and knelt to show proper respect to Gaara as the Kazekage and waited for him to give me permission to rise.

"I'm sure the Hokage told you why you were called here," he said.

"Yes, though I was told I would be informed of the details of my mission while here." I stated.

Gaara nodded. "There have been disappearances. It began just outside of the village, in the desert. People go missing often in the desert and die from the elements. We didn't think much of it at first, but as the numbers increased it became suspicious. Soon, even ninja that have been traveling in our desert for their whole lives began to go missing." He paused, but I kept silent, knowing there was more. "We investigated of course, but found nothing. It's hard to recover any evidence in the desert with the ever changing sands. Almost immediately after our investigation, disappearances began to occur within the village. We have tightened security and placed a curfew for anyone other than Jounin ninja, but even they have fallen victim. " He stopped talking.

"I will assist you in any way I can. For starters, I could head outside the village and investigate where your defense is weak. There may be something those familiar with the defense overlooked."

"Yes, thank you. You will have full access to leave and enter the village. And, being a Jounin, the curfew does not apply to you."

A bowed and left. I scowled to myself. Please, do not tell me that was the reason they made me a Jounin. I shook my head, no, I was qualified. Tsunade wouldn't send me if I wasn't capable.

I considered that the intruder may be staying in the village, but that was unlikely. With the curfew and citizens working together, they could easily spot someone that didn't belong. And without shelter, no one would be able to stand continuous freezing nights in the desert. No one would be able to live in the village without the assistance of one of the residents. That was a terrifying possibility. Or, could it even be one of the residents of the village itself?

Gaara wouldn't like that, but we had to consider all possibilities,

I walked into the lobby of the office and the ninja that escorted me in handed me a small plastic card. Apparently, it was to show the guards at the gates so that I could come and go as I pleased.

I immediately went to leave the village. I thought I might as well get started. Someone else could have disappeared at any time. I told the guards at the gates where I was going and not to be alarmed. Then, I began to climb the steep cliffs around the Sand Village. It was difficult, every so often there was a patch of sand that would slip out from under my feet and fall to the ground, almost taking me with it. Eventually I reached the top.

The village was perfectly surrounded by the cliffs. There was no way someone could travel over them without being seen. Unless a guard wasn't paying attention. Even then, if would be impossible to pull the maneuver multiple times. I knew the guards were paired and their partners were switched every night, therefore there was no way a guard was in on it.

If the intruder couldn't go over…

I went back to the base of the cliff on the outside of the village. This was going to be one hell of a long walk. I slowly walked across the sand, inspecting the base of the cliff and its surroundings for any crevasses.

* * *

The sun was rising. My feet hurt and I was up all night. All I found was a small cave with a small pond in it. In the end my search was fruitless.

I cursed. I knew there had to be a way into the village. I was frowning when I reached the gates to enter back into the village. To my surprise, Kankuro was there.

"Any luck?" He asked, his brows drawn together.

"Not yet, I'm going to head back out once I catch some rest. I'm so tired I can hardly see straight." I sighed and pinched my nose. "I'm not going to find anything like that… speaking of sleeping, where is the nearest hotel?"

"Right. About that…" Kankuro scratched the back of his head.

"About what?" I yawned.

"All of the hotels in the village are closed."

"Shit. I should have figured that. No one but the residents of the village are allowed in the village right now, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, so all of the hotels closed since they would be getting no business anyway." He explained.

"Ugh. So where will I be staying then?" It wasn't like they would let me sleep on the streets. Or at least I hoped they wouldn't.

"You will be staying with me and my siblings. Gaara offered for you to take his room. It's not like he sleeps in it anyway."

I made a face. "I'm not sleeping in someone else's room." That would be weird. "I'll take the couch."

Kankuro looked like he was going to argue, but once he saw my face he backed down.

I patted his shoulder. "Lead the way."

* * *

It was a pretty basic home, three bedrooms one bath. Mornings must be interesting with Kankuro and Temari both trying to do their makeup. Maybe Gaara's hair wasn't messy because of his choice. I wouldn't want to get between those two either. It looked like I would be wearing ponytails for a while.

"Are you sure you want the couch?" Kankuro raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, now let me sleep. I'm tired." I shooed him out of the room.

* * *

I woke up just past noon to Kankuro bursting through the front door.

"Jun!"

"Oh, dear god. What?" I put my hand over my face. "I thought I told you to let me sleep."

"Another person went missing. We need to go." Kankuro ran about grabbing ninja gear.

"Who went missing?"

"A child."

I shot up. _Shit._ I picked up my things from beside the bed and began to get ready to leave. I was ready just before Kankuro was.

"Where are we headed?" I asked as we ran out the door.

"To the eastern corner of the village, that's where the child was last seen."

"Where the hell where the parents?" I snarled.

"They were right there with him. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. No one has seen him since. Not even the ninja."

"So he disappeared suddenly and without a trace?" I questioned.

"Yes," Kankuro answered, "Just like all the others."

I clenched my teeth as we reached the location. I saw who I assumed was the child's mother crying in the arms of a ninja. We were in the middle of a playground. Its emptiness felt eerie. Kankuro began to walk towards the woman.

"Stop." I ordered, "Be careful not to step on, or disturb any of the footprints on the ground." I followed after him once he started moving again.

He looked like he was going to ask a few questions, but I interrupted him. "Do you live near here?"

The woman nodded.

"Can you take me there?" I motioned for her to lead me.

I crouched down by the entrance of the door. "Please wait here, at home."

The woman and Kankuro bulked.

"Please, it is necessary." I lied. "I will investigate thoroughly, I promise."

The woman looked confused, but nodded. Perfect. I couldn't have her getting in my way. Kankuro glared at me, but he seemed to understand. I turned away from the home, looking at the ground as I walked. Kankuro followed close behind.

"What are you doing?" Kankuro asked.

"Tracking the kid's footsteps." They led back to the playground. Well, at least I had the right ones. I continued to follow them. "Thank god, they didn't up and disappear. So, the kid wasn't carried off. They lead this way. Come on."

We walked only a bit more when I heard crying. I dashed forward, towards a sand dune. Behind it, was a small child. I pulled up short.

The kid looked up at me with big, watery eyes. "I lost my mommy."

"Hey, Kankuro!" I called to him as he ran to catch up to me. "Is this the kid you were looking for?"

He balked. "Yeah, he matches the description."

"Well," I sighed, "I guess that's that. You are going to return the kid?" I tiredly glanced about the area.

"Yeah. You going to go back to sleep?"

A small river caught my eye. I walked over to it and dumped my hand in. It was ice cold.

"Jun?" Kankuro said.

"What is this?" I flicked the water off my hand back into the river. There was no way a small stream like this could exist in a desert. The sun would dry it up within a day.

"Hm? Oh. That's a river."

"Yeah, thanks dumbass. Where exactly does this river come from is the question I'm asking."

"Underground." He said. "Why?"

I cursed. "I'm not going to sleep just yet. I think I might know where the loophole into the village is. Follow me."

**Author's Note: **There was approximately a year between the time Jun became a Chuunin to the time she became a Jounin. Therefore, the beginning of the chapter was a two year skip.

Please review!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Underground**

I dragged Kankuro down into the cave with me.

"Hey! Where are we going?" He cried, exasperated.

"You will see soon enough."

We entered into a small cavern where I found the small pond before. I dipped my hand into it. Ice cold. I grinned. I hesitated before stripping off my hoodie and throwing it at Kankuro.

"What –"

"If I'm not back in ten minutes… I drowned." I threw my tank top at him.

"Jun." He complained, "Don't do anything rash."

I threw my pants at him and stood there in just my chest bindings and underwear as he politely covered his eyes.

I grinned. "See you soon. Hopefully," I cheered.

"Jun –"

I dove into the water. I felt a shock run through my body and I struggled to not gasp. I did not need to inhale water. I opened my eyes and the water stung them. I began to swim forward, only to get impatient and use my wind chakra to propel myself forward.

I was going for about two minutes before my lungs started screaming for air. I fought to not inhale. I made a strangled face and continued forward. _This had to be it._ I amped up my wind chakra and charged forward, desperate for oxygen.

Finally, in the water above me, I saw a different texture than rock. I shot upwards and greedily gulped air. I glanced around to see where the light was coming from. There was a large crevasse in one of the walls in which I could see desert. I walked towards it and looked out. I could see the cliffs the village was surrounded by. I wasn't inside the village, but… I looked back around the cave. There were multiple tunnels going in every direction. I ran my hand over the wall. It was smooth. This cave system had to of been made by the river. At some time, it must have been much larger. There was no telling how many of these tunnels there were, and if the river flowed into the village… there had to be a way inside.

I walked up to the crack in the cave wall and climbed out. I began to make my way back towards Kankuro. It had been almost ten minutes. I hoped he wasn't panicking. I hurried quickly, the sand was irritating my scars and I wasn't too fond of running around practically naked.

When I got back to the cave I saw Kankuro had everything but his boxers off and looked like he was ready to dive into the river.

"Hey now. Don't go doing anything stupid. If died down there, I'm sure you would too." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"You were gone for ten minutes." He scowled and threw me my pants. "Don't make me worry like that."

"Shut up and hurry up getting my other clothes. It's damn freezing in this cave."

"I trust you found something?" He handed me my tank top and sweater followed by my sandals.

I flipped my hair out of my face. "Yeah. We should probably go inform Gaara, and then get some flashlights so we can investigate."

"Flashlights?" He looked confused.

I grinned. "We're going on an adventure."

* * *

I sighed. "God damn it!" I yelled, "How does he expect me to investigate all of these tunnels myself!"

I snarled and kicked a loose rock. It bounced off a far wall and its sound echoed. Gaara was going to pay for this. The last time I was in a cave by myself I had a rather horrifying experience, though it did end quite well for me. That gave me an idea.

I bit my thumb. "Summoning Jutsu."

An average sized spider, for a summoning that is, appeared in front of me. In reality, it was as big as I was. Its hair was surprising white and its six eyes glowed a bright red.

"Tsukiko." She was the sister of the massive spider, Hazuki, I met in the cavern in the Leaf.

"Brat." The spider growled.

"You're as cheerful as ever." I said with a grin. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could help me out. I need to investigate this system of caves."

"Hmmm… _these _caves huh." Tsukiko muttered.

"What is it?" I asked. Why was she having that kind of reaction?

The spider looked at me out of the corners of its eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I would. That _is_ why I called you here." I scowled.

"You will have to give me something in return." Tsukiko said hungrily.

Why did she always have to be so difficult? "I know you already have something in mind. Spit it out."

"I want a meal, any will do." The spider's fangs twitched.

"Fine, as long as you are patient. Dead? Or alive?"

"Either, though you know I would prefer the latter." That she would.

"So, will you tell me about these caves?" I asked.

Tsukiko settled down and I figured I should do the same.

"This system of caves belongs to an even larger set. Even my siblings and I do not know how far it expands. The more we travel and migrate, the more of it we discover. Long ago, there was a massive underground river that flowed all throughout this region. It went all the way from the east coast, through the Land of Fire, and through both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth and beyond. What it left behind was massive caverns and smaller cave systems that were spawned off from the various rivers and creeks that branched off from the mainstream. These are the caves that my family and I inhabit."

"So what you are saying is that these caves and the ones in the Leaf… are connected."

"Yes, and they connect to many more caves, all across the land."

"So then there are many openings, to which someone could intrude."

"Well yes, I suppose there are. But, do not forget. You were also an intruder in these cave systems. Do not forget this is my family's domain." The spider grinned. "Most are not as lucky as you are."

I snorted. "Except this place seems to be especially uninhabited… is it too close to the surface?"

"It's too close to the ninja village. This used to be a hunting ground for us. It was simple, really. We would make burrows and cover them in sand stuck together with our web. As soon as a human or animal came near… BAM! HAHAHAHA! There was no shortage of warm, juicy snacks. Those were the times. But, now the village is here. My family may be powerful, but we do not need to risk being driven to near extinction by vengeful ninjas. So, we left here. Though there are still a few of my old friends that hunt a little further away from civilization…"

"Then there is none of your family left here? So, it would be possible for someone to sneak around using these cave systems?" I pressed, excited.

"I suppose, as long as they didn't travel to far from the entrances here. If they did they could have run into my family. Why?"

"I think someone is using these caves to sneak into the Sand Village." I said.

Tsukiko grumbled, not liking someone intruding on the spiders' territory.

"Do you by any chance know a path that leads into the village?" The spider didn't answer. "Tsukiko?"

"Fine! Follow me, _brat._" The spider rose and headed off down one of the tunnels. I grinned and followed.

The spider scuffled so quickly I had to run to catch up. Either Tsukiko wanted to get back to what she was doing earlier, or she really hated me. Either was equally plausible.

"Hmmm. Is it this way? No. This way."

"Hey! Do you even _know _where you are going!?" I shouted. My forehead wrinkled. I really hoped she wasn't going to get me lost down here.

"_Shut up, brat!" _She moved quicker, forcing me to sprint to catch up.

"Ahhh… here we go." The spider lifted itself up and pushed through a solid piece of rock. "Seems like it has been used recently."

"Is that a trapdoor?" I asked.

"Yes, this is what we used to hunt long ago. I'm surprised this one is still intact." Tsukiko glared at me. "Is this what you were looking for? Am I dismissed?"

"Yes, thank you." I bowed to her.

"Don't forget our deal, you arrogant brat." She disappeared in a cloud of dust.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered, swiping the dust out of my face as I coughed. I was always good on my word. She would come to know that. I didn't know if she would ever come to like me though. I sighed and pulled and glanced at the sky. The sun wasn't down yet. I still had some time. I made my way to the Kazekage's office.

* * *

I scowled and threw myself down on the couch. All of that hard work and Gaara forced me to go get some rest. I wanted in on the action myself. I flipped over onto my stomach and pressed my face into the pillow and impatiently kicked my legs back and forth. I was bored and could not fall asleep at all. Gaara had a few ninja, including Kankuro, watching over the trapdoor for nights. I would be taking day shifts with Temari. Gaara was watching over the village, in case the intruder had another way to get inside.

I glared into empty space, grabbing the pillow and flipped over. My head hit the harder part of the arm of the couch with a clunk and I swore loudly. I rubbed it absentmindedly as I stuffed the pillow back under my head.

I closed my eyes and desperately tried to sleep.

* * *

Nothing. Absolutely nothing had popped up for days. Three full days of waiting by the trapdoor and three full days of no one disappearing. I was sure we had found the intruders trapdoor. And I was sure they knew it.

I pressed my lips into a thin line as I glared at the trapdoor. Maybe I should have been more careful when investigating it. There was a chance the intruder was down there while I was. If they were, that would be the reason they weren't showing up. So they knew we knew, and wouldn't be getting into the village anymore, but that wouldn't stop them from taking victims from outside of the village, or coming back into the village once people were allowed to enter and leave freely again. I cursed myself for my carelessness. This could have been finished and over with by now.

"Jun?" Temari asked, shifting out of her crouch from our hiding spot.

"There is no way they don't know. I have a bad feeling." I walked towards the trapdoor. There had been no activity for the past few days. We blocked the intruder's way into the village. I would have expected them to retaliate in some manner, but there was nothing. Either that or we didn't find anything yet. "I'm going down for a look."

I jumped through the hole with a dull thud as I hit the ground beneath and rolled. It was pitch black, except for the light flooding through the open trapdoor. I was immediately hit in the face with an awful stench. I began coughing, fighting the violent urge to vomit.

"Jun!" I heard Temari's voice faintly yell.

"No! Don't –" Too late. Temari came through the hole.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she brought a cloth up to her face to cover her nose. She walked over to me and handed me one identical to hers. I nodded my thanks as we walked closer to the smell. My eyes watered from the strong odor.

In front of us was a corpse. I had smelt rotting flesh before… and burnt flesh before, but never both at the same time. I definitely preferred them separate. Not that I like either smell at all.

I got a pretty good look at it. It was bloated and its gender was indistinguishable. It was horrifically mutilated. It was covered in various cuts and burns, but the most predominant characteristic was that half of its arm was burned away. All that was left was charred stump oozing a strange fluid.

Temari flipped it over so it was on its back. She gagged.

"Do you recognize who it is?" I asked, shifting further away.

She gently put the body back into place. "No. The features are too disfigured."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"It's most likely…" I began.

Temari finished my sentence. "…someone who went missing." Her lips tightened.

"Let's leave the rest for the medical ninjas." I put my hand on her shoulder and she shook it off.

"Let's go."

* * *

Since there was no use in trying to trap the intruder, Gaara had some ninja who could control earth fill the tunnel in; up to the point it reached the main cave.

It wasn't like we were back at square one. The people of the village were safe for now, but since the intruder was chased away, we had no idea where they were. I thought back to the corpse, it seemed like they still wanted to toy with the village. They would be back at any time and leave more presents for the sand ninja to find. More people would die, soon.

**Authors Note: **I don't really know why this chapter took me so long to finish. Sorry, it is shorter as well. I should have another chapter on the weekend.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: **Most of you probably know, but this is my first fanfiction. Actually it's the first story of this length I have ever written. Also, this is the first story I've written that has had even a touch of romance in it. So, this portion of the story will be the most challenging for me to write. I really hope I do a good job. Feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading.

**Chapter 17: Demon**

That stench. I knew that stench too well. I curled up into a ball, choking on air as I desperately tried to pull it into my lungs. My eyes burned as tears dripped off of my chin and fell to my knees.

Monster. I sobbed. Why? Please. Please no.

Dark hair was pooled on the ground in front of me. Lifeless eyes looked into mine.

_Don't look at me. This is all my fault. I am… a demon. _

* * *

I pushed my pillow into my face and bit my tongue to negate any sobbing. I didn't want to wake Temari.

I heard footsteps. I wish I had my hoodie, so I could hide my face. Instead, I just had on a green, long-sleeved shirt which I used to sleep in. I settled for turning my face to the side of the couch. My muscles protested as I tried to pull them out of the fetal position. In the end I just gave up.

A quiet, hesitant voice asked, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes." My voice sounded strained

I heard the footsteps move away after a moment. I sighed and banged my head lightly against my pillow. I needed to keep myself composed. I reached down and gingerly rubbed at my thigh, trying to ease the pain.

I cautiously rose to head to the kitchen. I stumbled through the doorway and cursed in surprise as a glass was suddenly shoved in my face.

Gaara looked at me blankly until I took the glass of water from his hand.

"…thank you." I murmured as I took a seat at the dining table.

I put my head down and only raised it to occasionally take sips of water. Gaara sat across from me and didn't say anything. I was grateful. Surprising, I actually enjoyed his company. It was peaceful.

Eventually Kankuro came in from night watch and the peace was broken. I groaned and rose up.

"I'll go get my gear ready."

* * *

"It's just up there." The ninja said tightly.

I had to admit, I didn't want to go up there, especially with my recent bouts of nightmares that persisted over the past few days. I knew they were from the last corpse I discovered, and I certainly didn't want to see another one. Though, unfortunately, that was the reason I was there.

This one was a little different from the last. Firstly, it didn't smell as bad as the first one. It couldn't have been very old. It was on one of the main routes to the Sand Village, so ninja passed by often. That meant the perpetrator had to be close by. Secondly, the injuries were slightly different. The corpse was still cut and burned, but the person's face was completely concave. There was a piece of brain matter hanging down by the corpse's ear. The ground around it was clear. The deed must have done elsewhere, and the body was brought here.

I scowled. They were so close, yet so far. I scanned the area, they left no trace. Sure there were footsteps on the ground, but there was no way to distinguish one trail from another. Damn it. Another cold trail. I kicked at the sand as I glared at the horizon.

I stormed back to the ninja. "Get the medical team on this. I'm not able to do anything here."

* * *

"Demon!" A voice roared.

I felt I shock of pain across my face and I flew backwards. I cringed on the ground, bawling. I gasped for air a large hand wrapped around my throat. Large, black eyes looked into mine with disgust. I clawed at his arm desperately, but Father paid that no mind.

"Stop! Please stop!" Mother screamed as she hurled herself at him. "She's your daughter!"

"Bullshit!" I dropped to the ground as Father strode towards Mother. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground. "That is no child of mine!" His finger jabbed at me. "That thing!"

He turned and began to head towards me again. My mother shrieked in terror and tried grabbing onto his leg. He kicked her away.

He grabbed my tiny arm tightly and I screamed as I felt the bone snap. His fist slammed into my body again and again. They were the same hands that kindly braided wildflowers into my hair during summer and the same hands that tucked me in at night. His mouth which viciously spewed vulgarities at me once softly read stories to me as I fell asleep.

Eventually through unimaginable terror and pain I lost consciousness.

I didn't know how long I was out. When I awoke, it was dark and could hardly move. I heard screaming and I saw Mother being hurled down the stairs by Father.

"If you're just going to get in my way then you can stay down there with the little bitch!" He growled, "And shut up!" He slammed the door shut.

"Mommy!" I cried and dragged myself over to her.

She weakly looked up at me with tear filled eyes. "Sweetheart." She brushed my hair out of my face gently. "Your eyes… are just like your father's…"

"…what?" I whispered. My eyes were nothing like my father's.

"Promise me." She smiled, "You will find him." Her eyes glazed over and her body slumped to the ground.

I didn't understand what was happening. I was too young.

"M-Mommy? Mommy!" I shook her shoulder. "Mommy!"

Mommy didn't move again. Her lifeless eyes kept on me the whole time. Father didn't come down to the basement for a long time. I wanted to open the door, but my body was too damaged to even make it up the stairs.

I was hungry, tired and thirsty and I yearned for the care of the kind Father I once knew. But, I feared the monster he had become. Why had it turned out like this? Was it because of my eyes? I touched around them weakly. They felt no different. But, given the reaction of Father… what happened to them?

That previous night I had woken up from a nightmare. I can't remember exactly what I dreamed of, but I knew I woke up screaming. When my father came into my room to wake me, the first thing I saw was horror in his eyes as they looked into mine. From there, the yelling and the violence began.

I heard a heavy door open and fearfully glanced up at Father as he came down the stairs. He looked at Mother's foul smelling body and then glared at me. He smacked me across the face and I flew into a wall, my head striking it. He gathered Mother into his arms and a wretched howl tore through his throat.

"…You bitch…" He whispered. "This is all because of you. You killed her didn't you? You demon."

He stalked in my direction with tears running down his face.

"…all your fault." He grabbed his head. "Just… Just die."

He grabbed me by the throat again and began to choke me. My arms feebly hung at my sides this time. I was too weak to fight. Was I really going to die down here?

I looked into his eyes and felt a jolt go through me. What was this? I cringed.

_Death._

I would not die. I didn't want to. Neither did Father. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew the thought terrified him.

I would not die.

The scene suddenly changed. I was standing in my favorite field. Beautiful, colorful flowers surrounded me. I ran my hand over them, and to my surprise, I found my body was no longer injured. I felt no pain. I was in my favorite white dress and my hair was braided back in the way that only Father could do it. I smiled as I saw Father standing with his back to me.

Maybe it was all a dream?

I skipped up behind him with my hands behind my back.

"Daddy?" I asked innocently.

He spun to face me, his expression twisted into a look of horror.

"D-Daddy?" I asked. "What – "

Father swung at me and my eyes widened. His arm stopped an inch from my face. Flower stems tangled around his legs, holding him in place. They continued upwards, thorns tearing into his skin as they coiled tightly up his body. Blood dripped on the ground beneath him. He futilely tried to struggle free. The stems covered his whole body, only leaving head uncovered. The stems compressed and blood splatted across the flowers, dying them red. His screams filled the air.

We were back in the real world. Father dropped me. His screams echoing through the house.

"Oh-ho." An unfamiliar voice said from the top of the stairs. "I heard in the village that there was word of a demon, but I never expected something like this."

An average sized man with dark hair and eyes to match strolled down into the basement.

He glanced at Father and then at me. "Hm. You have interesting eyes. Are they the cause for this?" He crouched in front of me and lifted up my chin.

I didn't answer and instead numbly met his gaze.

He sighed. "I suppose the organization would be interested in you… and I might get a reward for finding someone like you…"

He picked me up. I was too tired to even react to the pain.

"You're going to come with me."

* * *

A hand lightly shook me awake. I inhaled sharply. I was back in the sand sibling's house, curled up into a ball on the couch. Gaara was standing above me with a slightly concerned look in his eyes.

"S-sorry." I whispered and uncurled myself. I noticed that my hands were clenched into fists and blood ran from in between them and onto my green shirt. "Shit."

At least no blood got on the couch.

"Come." He ordered as he went into the kitchen.

I scowled at his retreating figure before I got up and followed him. He motioned for me sit at the table as he brought out the first aid kit. He took a seat beside me and held out his hand. I gave him one of mine and he gently cleaned it before bandaging it. He did the next one as we sat in silence, my face still swollen from crying.

I sat uncomfortably as he began putting away the kit. Should I say something? I almost wanted to, but in the end I just inspected the bandages on my hands before rubbing my face roughly and putting it down. I _did _want to say something to him, but I struggled finding the right words. Would he even care to hear them? He had been kind to me when I woke up from nightmares, but was he only doing that out of obligation? My instinct, as both a thief and a ninja told me to not say anything more than I needed to… which was nothing. And yet, I felt myself yearning to be able to talk to someone.

What exactly made me feel like this _someone_ was Gaara? The freaking Kazekage of all people.

I was startled by his voice. "We all have a darkness inside of us… if you do not wish to talk about yours… I do not expect you to."

"Thank you," I began, "I.."

I ended up telling him my story anyway. I told him a little about my early childhood up until I was four, the point of my life where everything changed. When my bloodline trait activated and when my father tried to kill me and ended up killing my mother. Also, the man from the organization, Raiden, who found me in the basement. I didn't tell him about my time in the organization from there, onwards.

He stayed silent the whole time and listened intently as I talked on. When I was finished, I didn't know what I expected, but Gaara sat there without saying a word. I hoped for maybe a few words out of him, but ended up getting none. But even then, just his presence beside me was enough to provide some comfort.

* * *

"Another?" I asked Gaara.

"Yes," He shifted through some paperwork. "The same injuries as usual, cuts and burns… with the addition of an unique injury. This time it wasn't so obvious at the crime scene. His tongue was cut out."

I felt a chill go down my spine. His tongue? Something felt wrong. It was like I couldn't see the whole picture. And, the more I strained to do so, the further it slipped out of my grasp.

Could it be–

_A missing arm. A crushed face. A tongue. _

My mind fell back to a single face that popped up in the back of my head. Blonde hair, blue eyes and charmingly sadistic smile.

_Kane._

The unique injuries to the corpses closely resembled the injuries I made Kane suffer under my genjutsu. If I was right… the next corpse would have its teeth missing.

This attack was obviously directed towards me, and the corpses only began to show up once I did. But, why was he directing the attack in the sand village?

I looked at Gaara, whose eyes were on my paling face. How on earth was I going to explain the deaths in his village were my fault?


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:** I wanted this chapter to be longer, but ending it where it was seemed right.

**Chapter 18: Correlations **

I pressed my lips together. How was I going to tell Gaara? How would he react?

"I– " I paused. Not sure how to begin.

"Yes?" He questioned, leaning forward in his seat.

"T-the unique wounds the corpses have… I… just… realized that I am familiar with them." I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes.

Gaara sounded confused. "What do you mean?"

My gaze drifted off to a potted plant in the corner of the room. Hmm… I really liked that colour of green.

"They resemble," I sighed. "What I did to Kane under my genjutsu last year."

It was subtle, but I saw his lips thin a little. I flinched.

"And you think it is Kane, how is attacking my village right now?"

"Yes. I think the corpses were left for me. And, knowing Kane, none of the people who were previously abducted would be alive." I gritted my teeth and hissed out, "They probably suffered."

Gaara nodded stiffly. "Yes, they did. The medics report that none of the injuries were made post-mortem." He glanced out of the window behind him, looking over the village.

"I'm sorry." I whispered with my head down.

His eyes drifted towards mine again and he shook his head slightly. "No, this is not your fault."

"But, if I had–"

"He is the one attacking my village, not you."

I clenched my teeth angrily. "I let him live. I knew he would come after me again. Why did I let him live?"

"If you feel so guilty about it, finish him off the next time you meet… or I will." Gaara said seriously.

"Yes… I will go search in the types of places the organization taught us to hide…" I mumbled.

Gaara turned back to the window. "Be sure to take Kankuro with you."

I bowed and left, angry at Kane, but mostly angry at myself. I would finish him off. I should have known not to leave him alive, especially after I tortured him like that. I gritted my teeth. I would have to be careful, wounded animals, like him, were dangerous.

* * *

I slumped back into the couch. Nothing. I should have known I wouldn't find him. He knew the same tricks I did and he knew where I would most likely look.

I stood up suddenly. He was here for me… so why play around. I felt a grin play on my face. Instead of chasing after him… why not let him come to me?

"I don't like the look of that smile…" Kankuro muttered, sitting on the couch.

"Oh," I grinned. "What are you talking about?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Every time you get that look you seem to do something stupid afterwards."

I pouted a little. "Rude." I sat back down.

"What the hell are you planning?"

"Nothing all that fun. Actually I don't think it'll be fun at all."

He looked at me sceptically.

"Fine. Fine. I'll tell you." I threw my hands up in the air dramatically.

"You had better."

I sighed. "Okay, listen," I said seriously. "Kane _has_ to be here for me. I want to tempt him with something he can't resist."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Me."

Kankuro snorted and I swatted at him.

"Shut up, I'm not joking here." I growled. "I want him to come after me… that's the quickest way to end it all, and avoid more deaths… I would without a doubt be exposed to his tricks and traps though."

"Then take me with you. We could take him on, no problem." Kankuro cracked his knuckles.

"Idiot. If it's the two of us he would never show. It needs to be just me."

"Okay, I'll wait in the bush or something."

I glared at him. "Kane isn't that stupid. He would never fall for a pathetic trap like that. No, I need to be completely alone. He would know if I wasn't. It's a gamble, but it's our best bet."

Kankuro pursed his lips. "You're going to have to take that up with Gaara."

* * *

"…are you sure?" Gaara questioned.

"Yes, I think it is… the most effective way."

He shook his head. "It's a gamble. And, I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't–"

"I will send a letter to the Hokage explaining my wishes." I sighed. I shouldn't have interrupted the Kazekage, but I did. So, I continued. "Kane should in no way be your village's problem. He is my problem, and I will deal with him without any unnecessary bloodshed."

Gaara frowned slightly. "Very well."

I turned to leave.

"Be careful, Jun. Don't do anything stupid."

I grinned. "I'll try not to."

I made my way out of the Kage building. The sun was not going to set for quite a while, so I would have adequate time to ready my gear and grab some food before I made my way out of the village.

I grabbed a pack and filled it with lots of canteens of water. Any extra space I had, I filled with first aid equipment. I kept all my ninja tools on me, ready to be drawn.

I steeled my nerve and began my journey out of the village. It was almost nightfall, Kane's playtime. I was sure he would notice me leaving and follow.

I travelled until the village was out of sight and then dumped my pack on the cooling sand. I took a seat and leaned back into it, rolling a pebble I found on the ground between my fingers. I stared at the stars as the sun set, looking at constellations and marveling at their beauty.

I sighed. "You sure kept me waiting long enough. Here I thought you weren't going to show."

A chuckle. "Like I would do that to you. I would never stand you up."

"Oh, really. If I remember correctly…" I mumbled.

He growled, "That wasn't my fault."

"No, it wasn't," I whispered sadly. "But, that's in the past now. That was the old you. The new you…" I glared in his direction.

He rubbed the back of his head. "So cruel, Kana."

"What?" I scowled.

"You and I are the same. We have been over this. So, why do you judge me so harshly?" He yelled.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I snapped it shut.

"No answer!" He put his face in his hands. He mumbled, "You idiot. You don't understand anything. Why, won't you admit it? Why do you refuse to admit it? You are just as twisted as I am… so why?"

"I don't want anything to do with you." I snarled and got on my feet. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Why? You idiot." He began to laugh. "Because, I love you."

"What–"

"I love you, Kana. I won't leave you, because I can't."

"If you love me, then why did you hurt me so much?! Why did you take me back to the organization?!" I screamed at him. Why?

"Because, you grew weak. In this world, only the strong survive. If you became weak, then you wouldn't be able to protect yourself… if you became weak… we would no longer be the same."

"Kana," He whispered desperately. "Please, come with me."

"No." I shook my head. "No." I was never going to go with him.

"It's okay, Kana. We won't go back to the organization, I promise. It can be just the two of us. Okay? So, please. Please, just come with me?"

He made his way over to me and put his arms around me. I didn't move, I was shocked.

"Please, I don't want to lose you again."

"No. I'm not going anywhere with you, Kane." I raised my limp arms and went to push him away.

I felt him stiffen. "Is it because of your _friends?_ You don't need them Kana. I can take care of them, just like I promised last time."

I kneed him in the stomach, forcing him away from me.

"Don't you fucking touch my friends." I glared up at him as he straightened. "You know what I'll do to you."

He shuddered and met my eyes. "They are not like us. Over time… they _will _make you weak. They already are. The old you would have killed me by now."

I gritted my teeth knowing he was right. But, I was not weak. Ruthlessness was not strength.

"They made you weak… so I had to get you away from them. I thought… if you were away from them… your mind would clear. But still, why won't you listen to me?"

So that's why he attacked the Sand Village. Damn it. He calculated the Hokage would send me because of my past.

He continued, "Kana… please come with me–"

He stopped suddenly, his eyes widening. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

"Kane?" I whispered.

The sword stuck in his back was thrust completely through his chest. He looked down at it and brought his hands to it. Blood ran along the blade's end and dripped to the ground, absorbing into the sand. The blade was suddenly yanked sideways and blood sprayed from his gaping wound. It hit me in the face as his entrails hit the ground, closely followed by his body.

I whipped some of the blood from my eyes and stared at the figure crouched by Kane's now lifeless body.

"It was a shame you had to die kid, I kind of liked you. Though you sure where a handful. Seems the organization had enough of you." He kicked Kane's body a little. "I'm not really surprised."

He glanced my direction. "Ah, my other pupil. I never expected to see you, Kana. I should have, whenever Kane did something excessively stupid it was always because of you."

"…Raiden." I spit.

"Good to see you too. How many years has it been? You sure have grown! But, you're still the same as always. Those terrifying eyes and hateful expression… Oh, look. You're even covered in blood."

I glared at him, avoiding looking at Kane's body.

"Oh well, enough reminiscing. Killing Kane may have been my mission… but," I sadist grin spread across Raiden's face, "there is a rather large bounty on your head too. I think I'll be taking it."

He lunged forward and I moved back far more sluggishly than I would have liked. His blade nicked my cheek as I rolled out of the way. He kept attacking, not even giving me the chance to draw my weapon.

He lunged forward with the blade and I dodged to the side. I threw my left hand in a punch towards his forearm. I felt a few of my fingers break, but at least I knocked his arm away to give me enough time to gather some wind chakra.

I shot forward and hit him in the chest. I felt a few of his ribs break. Shit, but it wasn't enough. It would only buy me more time.

He coughed. "Not bad, Kana." I faced off with him, tensing, waiting for his attack, and at the same time thinking about my own.

I bit my thumb and began forming hand signs. "Summoning jutsu!"

Through the dust of my summoning, I could see Raiden making hand signs as well.

"_Summoning Jutsu…"_ He muttered. I heard a loud buzzing and heard my summoning, Kinu, hiss in retort.

**Author's Note:** I will end up writing a short story telling about what made Kane as messed up as he was. It will be written from Kane's perspective. I'm thinking about titling it: The Broken Promise. I will update everyone on its progress later.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Family**

"…hold it like this… No, not like that. Like this." Raiden sighed and grabbed my arm, forcing it up higher. "Don't slack off. If you want to be able to actually use a sword then you have to develop the muscles to."

He sighed and glared at me as the blade began to drop lower again.

"Fifty." He ordered.

"What!" I demanded, the sword tip hitting the ground, giving my shaking arms a second of rest.

"Fifty push-ups. Now. Unless you would rather do one hundred?"

I groaned and lowered myself to the ground. I heard laughing from Kane's direction.

Raiden ground his teeth and glowered at him. "You. You, do fifty as well."

"Ah, damn it." Kane complained as he fell to his back, sticking his limbs out in every direction. He rolled over and started his.

"Hey, Kana! I bet I'll finish before you can!" He called and smirked.

"Huh! No, you can't!" I yelled back at him and started to pump my arms faster. I didn't care how much they burned. I didn't want to lose to Kane.

Both of us ended up lying on the ground, having finished at the same time. The only difference was that Kane was able to lower himself to the ground. I, on the other hand, had my arms give out on me and ended up eating a mouthful of grass and dirt.

"Are you two done yet? It's getting dark out, we need to head back to base and get some supper." As an afterthought, he muttered, "I'm starved."

I rolled myself up without using my arms. _Food._ Kane was following closing behind with his hands in his pockets, muttering about wanting to train some more.

I fell back so I was walking beside him. "Kaaaane…" I scolded, "You can't train all day, you need to relax and give your muscles a break. Or you could hurt yourself."

He flushed. "Yeah, I know that." He gestured to Raiden. "But, this guy isn't going to be around for too long. As soon as his injuries heal from his latest mission, the organization will give him a new one."

"Yeah," Raiden stopped and looked back at us. "One that is a lot better, and pays a hell of a lot more than babysitting two little brats."

Raiden turned back away from us and Kane stuck his tongue out as I giggled.

* * *

"How can you possibly eat that much with such a small body?" Kane pointed at me with his chopsticks.

I smacked them out of my face. "Shut up! I–"

My stomach growled and I blushed.

Kane covered his mouth. "How? You just finished eating!"

"I'm growing you know! Besides I'm only four!" I shouted at him.

He laughed. "As long as I have know you, you haven't grown an inch."

I clenched my fists and heard a chuckle to my right. A short guy with a dark hood covering his face sat with his legs crossed.

"Now, now, children. Try to keep the bickering away from the dinner table." He leaned towards us and spit out, "You're annoying others."

I shrunk away from the man's dangerous smile and towards Kane, who put a supportive hand on my back, so I wouldn't fall over.

Not another word was said between Kane and me through dinner, with the exception of a whispered: 'Here,' as Kane offered me the rest of his rice.

After dinner we were sent back to our room. In the safe house, all children slept in the same room until they were twelve. After that, they were allowed to have their own. At that moment, Kane and I were the only children.

We were pushed into the room immediately after dinner. The only light was from the moon and the stars from out our small window.

Kane smiled as he saw my eyes were still open.

"Hey you, go to sleep already." He said.

I blinked slowly, "How about you? You go to sleep."

"I will as soon as you do."

I snorted. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." He walked over to me and gently put his hand over my eyes. "If you wake up in the middle of the night again… remember I'm here. Okay?"

"…okay." I turned over onto my side and grabbed a hold of his hand before I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"I've decided you are hopeless with that sword," Raiden remarked as I puffed out my cheeks. "It's too big for you. Besides, I don't think you'll ever grow into it."

I saw him pull a sword from a sheath on his hip. "Try this one out."

I paused before I grabbed it. It was beautiful short sword. I snatched it from his hand and held it out like he had taught me.

"Hm, yes. That is much better. You have short arms, so you would already have a disadvantage when it comes to range. But, like this, we can utilize it. You can move in very close and still make a full swing, while your opponent couldn't. Why don't you give it a few swings?"

I smiled and did what he told me to. I liked it. With this sword it didn't feel like my arm was being yanked out of my socket.

"Good. Good. So, are you feeling up to some sparring?"

I gaped at him.

"Don't worry. Not with me… Kane!" He called.

Kane strolled over and took a stance. "About time." He murmured.

"Kane, go in with a basic lunge and thrust with the blade. Kana, deflect it off to the side. Do ten and then switch." Raiden stood with his arms crossed, observing closely.

Kane lunged in quicker than I expected and thrust with his blade. I quickly jerked my arm, trying to deflect his blade. I wasn't quite fast enough and his sword edge gouged a deep cut into my arm. I fell back with a gasp and Kane looked at my arm with wide eyes.

"Kana!" He cried and rushed towards me.

I grasped at my arm with my opposite hand and blood ran between my fingers.

"Kana," Kane pleaded, "Let me see." He gently touched my hand.

I pulled it away and he looked at my wound.

Raiden whistled. "I'll go grab a first aid kit." He disappeared out of the clearing and headed into the forest.

Kane covered his face and sat back. "I'm sorry. I'm… sorry."

"Ah, no!" I said hurriedly. "I- I didn't react as fast as I should have."

He shook his head. "No, you never sparred before. I should have guessed you might have hesitated. I'm sorry."

It was a while before Raiden came back with the first aid kit. He cleaned, stitched and bandaged my arm.

"Thankfully, it wasn't your sword arm. We can still continue with training today."

I nodded and stood, taking a hold of my sword.

"Kane." Raiden ordered, "Get up."

Kane didn't move. He stayed on the ground with his hands covering his eyes.

"_Kane. Get up." _

Kane and I continued sparring for the rest of the day. I was excited and felt myself getting used to the movements. Kane seemed to be behaving different. He seemed to be too slow at the end of his strikes and often pulled them, even though I was ready to defend them. I could tell Raiden was getting frustrated, but he let it go.

Raiden ended up healing a month later; however, on his time off from missions he would train us whenever he had the chance. I trained with Kane daily and he eventually got over hurting me. Raiden taught Kane and I all he knew. I suppose, in a way, he had taken over the position of my father.

* * *

**Present time…**

Raiden's summoning buzzed in the air above him. Kinu was shuffling uneasily beside me.

A wasp. It had a long black body complete with four massive, but thin, brown wings.

"Hiroto." Raiden said and the wasp shot forward. Its stinger, which was about the size of my short sword, was aimed directly at me. I dove out of the way and Kinu shot a strand of her webbing at it. Hiroto rose into the sky, evading the thread.

I charged at Raiden with my sword and he deflected it. He aimed a kick at my stomach and I quickly drew my body and sword backwards to slash at his foot. Raiden pulled his leg back, at the same time he avoided the path of my sword and stabbed in with his own. I swiftly twisted my torso to the side, letting his blade slide past my body. I moved in closer and once again hit him with a blast of my wind chakra in the chest. This time however, I followed it with a deep cut.

He gasped and fell back. As I was moving in to attack again, I saw a confident smile come over his face. I head a buzzing and tried to move out of the way, but my momentum was already carrying me forward. Hiroto's stinger stabbed into my arm.

I felt horrid pain. It felt as though electricity was coursing through my entire body. I screamed and collapsed to the ground, the pain so awful I was sure that it alone would kill me.

Raiden sighed and crouched over me. "How do you like that Kana? My summoning's have a very potent sting. Soon, you will be completely paralyzed. I'm sure you can feel it in your arm right now." He continued, "You see, the wasps use the sting to paralyze their victim. Then, they drag the bodies back to their nest, where they lay egg right here." Raiden poked my stomach. "The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the still alive victim, keeping it alive for as long as possible." He made a bursting motion. "Next, they are born into the world, where they continue the cycle. They are sure to find a very powerful victim. The stronger the victim is, the stronger the larvae will be. So naturally, they target other summoning animals. I wonder… how good of a host would _your _summoning be?"

"Still can't get out of the habit of instructing me, huh?" I growled.

I picked up my sword and cut at the painful wound, forcing as much of the venom out as I could.

Raiden chuckled. "That won't help much. Enough of the venom already got in your system. Soon, you will be done for."

I heard a buzzing and I grinned at Raiden. I swung my sword upwards at him and he effortless moved out of the way. What I did next surprised him. I threw my sword. It went sailing through the air and tore into his summoning's wing.

I heard an inhuman screeching as Hiroto crashed into the ground. Kinu's webbing shot out and made quick work of binding the wasp. It thrashed uselessly on the sand.

Kinu was injured badly. It seemed she was stung as well. I watched as she disappeared in a poof of smoke. Hiroto also disappeared.

I let my arm fall back to the ground and tried to push myself up with it, only to fall once more. I cursed. The paralysis was kicking in very quick.

I saw Raiden attempt to perform another summoning jutsu, only to fail. It seemed he didn't have enough chakra left. However, I did. I bit my thumb and I brought my good hand over to my paralyzed one and forced it into the hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu…"

Tsukiko appeared and surveyed the scene. She saw Raiden.

"So, brat. This is my meal?"

"Yeah." I muttered, "Play with him all you like."

Tsukiko chuckled a little, "Oh, trust me, I will."

She lunged at Raiden with her teeth bared. He attempted to stab at her, but he was no match. She sunk her fangs into his torso and soon his body slouched. She rolled him up in her web and dragged his body behind her as she walked up towards Kane.

"This one too?"

"No. Leave that one."

She mumbled something and then disappeared. She was probably eager to play with her prey.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I wondered how long it would take for the sting's effects to wear off.

I laid there for at least an hour before I passed out.

* * *

I woke up in a rather comfortable bed. By my standards anyway. I tried to move and groaned. My whole body hurt. I painfully turned my head to look over at my right arm. It was completely bandaged and was noticeably swollen, especially where I was stung.

"So, you're finally awake." Kankuro said.

"How long was I out?"

"Only a few days."

I groaned a little. Kankuro laughed.

"When can a leave?" I grumbled. "You know I hate hospitals."

"As soon as you can walk without assistance," Gaara said, entering the room. He closed the door behind him and leaned up against the wall facing me and crossed his arms. "Though the Hokage has sent orders for you to stay in my village until our medics deem you fit to travel the distance to go home."

I made a face and threw the blankets off my body with my left hand. Gaara and Kankuro sighed. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and experimentally wiggled my toes. So far, so good. I slid both feet onto the ground. They felt wobbly, but I was sure I would be able to stand. I was able to, and I did so slowly. But, as soon as went to take a step forward my legs collapsed on me and Gaara's sand caught me before I hit the ground.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I clenched my fists as Gaara helped my back into bed.

"Maybe you should lie down." Kankuro said.

"No." I stubbornly sat with my back against the pillows with my arms and legs crossed with the blankets on my lap.

"Kankuro," Gaara said, "I need to discuss the details of what happened with Jun."

"Okay." Kankuro stood and waved towards me. "I'll be visiting you later then."

"So…?" Gaara gestured for me to begin.

I told him what happened. Excluding Kane's confession of course.

Gaara blinked in surprise as he saw tears running down my face. I angrily whipped at them.

"Isn't it stupid?" I sobbed. "I can't help but feel sad for his death… He- he may have been a monster, but… he wasn't always like that. Despite what he's done, I still–" I choked up. "I don't even know _why _he changed. Maybe if I knew, I could have helped him. Maybe all of this could have been avoided…"

Gaara came up and put a hand on my shoulder. He didn't say anything, but there wasn't really anything to say that would comfort me. There was no going back and changing the past.

Without any rational thought, I leaned into Gaara's chest with my eyes screwed shut. I felt him stiffen a little, before his hand gently moved to my back as he accepted the embrace.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Unexpected Target**

Ah, trees. I loved to see them again. I loved their green color and how solid the branches felt when I ran on them. Far better than sand, in my opinion. They kept me in the Sand Village for far too long. I could have left two or three days after I woke up, but they forced me to stay a week.

It wasn't entirely awful, but the sand siblings were often working, so I had hardly any company. I did enjoy the relaxation time though.

When I got home I really wanted to sit down and have a talk with Sakura. But, hardly after I walked through the gates to the village I got slapped in the face with another mission. Now, I was heading to the southwest corner of the land of fire.

Apparently, there was a report of a dangerous criminal that had traveled from the land of earth and was now causing problems for residents of various villages. I was to go to one of these villages where I would be given more information on the target. Next, I was to find his location and eliminate him.

I stopped on a tree overlooking one of these villages. It was oddly quiet and void of… anything really. The streets were clear of anyone.

I jumped from the tree and landed on the dirt road leading to the village. I entered it, still not seeing anyone, though every once in a while I would catch movement out of the corner of my eye or hear the faint sound of someone shuffling their feet. I subconsciously began to take quieter footsteps and fade into the shadows. The habit of the thief: to blend into the environment around you.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I knew I was being watched. It made me uneasy. I walked up to the door of one building and examined it. I pulled out my scroll from the Hokage to get my confirmation that I was at the right place.

I knocked. The hard sound echoed through the village and I winced at the sudden sound. I heard a faint rustling on the other side of the door and an old woman opened the door, quietly hustling me inside.

"Are you–" I began.

She hushed me and made a motion for me to follow her. She led me down a few stairs into a basement. It made me extremely uneasy and I reluctantly followed.

She lit a small candle on her way down. In the basement there was another woman, around twenty years old so, and a young boy who clung to her.

The old woman sounded somber. "This is the only family I have left now."

All I did was nod.

The younger woman looked up at me. "Can you help us?"

"That's what I was hired to do." I said. "Tell me what you can about my target."

The old lady's shoulders hunched. "We don't know much. It was a man. He moved very quickly. He… slit my son's throat in an instant." Her shoulders trembled and she covered her mouth. "Other villagers tried to apprehend him, but he killed them as well."

"What did he do after that?" I pressed.

"He left." Was her simple answer.

* * *

I rubbed my fingers into the dirt on the ground. When I dusted it off, they were stained red. I sighed. How many people died in the spot I was standing in?

This village had hardly given me any information at all. He was a man, quick and ruthless. Great.

I also had to go to the next town on my list, which also proved to be pointless. There were no deaths in that town, but seeing a man covered in blood entering wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

It wasn't until I headed to the next village, that I actually got some information on my target. This information was not something I was prepared for.

* * *

I couldn't describe the feeling that came over me as soon as I stepped into that village. It made my stomach churn and my head spin. I had to stop for a few seconds to steady myself before I continued. Yet, despite forcing myself to calm down, the feeling refused to ease up.

It was exactly like the first town I was in. It was quiet and everyone was hidden. But, something was different. I knew it.

Once again, I walked up to the door my scroll told me to. I knocked. I young woman, just older than I was answered it. She glared at me.

"Good. You're finally here." She walked out the door, past me. "Well, are you coming? You are the ninja, right?"

"I- yes. Yes, I am." I strode behind her.

She talked as she walked. Rather loudly, actually. "My mom says it was a demon that attacked us, you now. One of vengeance. I don't know much about it. Well, I know about the recent attack, but not about the vengeance part all that much."

"Vengeance?"

She nodded and her blonde hair bounced up and down. "Apparently, something really bad happened in _that_ house a long time ago. People don't go near it anymore. It is forbidden to."

"_That _house?" I asked, my stomach violently stirred.

"Yeah, we're going there now. That is where the so called 'victim' is. Though, when my mom calls him that she doesn't really seem to mean it."

"Something about the whole vengeance thing, maybe?" I whispered.

She nodded. "Perhaps."

"The victim, he was attacked at his home?"

"No," She shook her head. "He was attacked while heading home from the market."

I was confused. "Then who took his body to his home? I thought no one went near there?"

"Hmm? He made his way home, of course," she stated.

"He. Made. His. Way. Home." The words felt awkward in my mouth. "So he is still alive then?"

"Yes," she confirmed. She stopped. "This is as far as I'll go." She pointed down a path heading into the forest. "If you follow that, you will reach the house."

"Thank you," I whispered as she turned away.

I headed down the trail. It was muddy and I could see where someone's unsteady footsteps caused their feet to slip on it. I yearned to run my hand along the leaves from the trees next to the path, but I restrained myself.

I stepped into a clearing and felt my heart stop. In front of me was a once beautiful cabin styled house. Now, it was a wreck. Its wood was rotting and various flower pots lay broken and crumbled in front of it. It was contrasted by a beautiful meadow behind it, which was overflowing with different, vibrant types of flowers.

I fell to my knees and heaved what I had in my stomach on the ground. This place… used to my home.

I struggled to my feet. I had to complete my mission. That was all that mattered.

I carefully managed my way up the broken steps and placed my hand on the door. I ran my hand over the wood gently and squeezed my eyes shut. I could do this.

I looked toward the ruined flower pots and remembered how much time Mother and I put into planting the flowers that didn't grow naturally in our meadow. I remembered her smile. I could do this.

Could I? Could I return to the house of my nightmares? Where all smiles turned into screams and where every pleasant childhood memory of mine was grotesquely twisted.

It was not a matter of could or couldn't I. I had to.

I pushed the heavy door open. It creaked against its hinges and sounds of freight came from within the house. I stepped into the house and it swung shut behind me. It was dark.

"WHO'S THERE!" Screamed a strangled, terrified voice. I walked towards it. I knew where it was coming from. The layout of this house was engraved in my mind.

I pushed the door open to the bedroom. There, Father laid on his bed. I gritted my teeth. I needed information.

"Hello," I said not so calmly, keeping my eyes in the floor and my hood obscuring my face. "I am a ninja sent from the Leaf to help you with… your resent circumstances. I was wondering if you could give me any information on the man that attacked you."

He huffed and struggled to rise, only to fall back into the bed. He cursed.

"Demon." He muttered.

My whole body froze. Just hearing that very word uttered by his mouth…

"It was a demon. It was the same. The same…" He groaned and held onto his face. "The same as that _bitch._" His hands shook. "The eyes…" He mumbled incoherently. "The eyes were the same. The same."

So, it was _him. _What the hell was he doing here? I had to admit when I heard the target was from the Land of Earth, the thought had crossed my mind, but I immediately dismissed it. My target –

I stood and abruptly walked out of the room. Father was still mumbling on and on. I headed towards the back door. My feet seemed to carry me there on their will. I glanced at the meadow and then turned around to look at a different door.

It was different than it used to be. It used to be just like any other door in the house, now it bore various types of deadbolts and locks. Slowly, my hand reached up and began to unlock them. The last one released the door and it opened with a definite click.

I slowly walked down the steps, testing each with my weight. I didn't want to break them and then fall and not be able to get back up them. I made it to the bottom and tears filled my eyes.

Mother was still there, in the same position she was when I had left. Now, all that was left was a dirty skeleton dressed in her clothes. I took a deep breath and kneeled beside her bones. I ran my fingers along her cheekbone. I pulled my hand away and clenched it into a fist.

He didn't even have the decency to give her a proper burial. This was a woman he once loved. He killed her, and then, he let her body decompose in the place of her death, in the horrible basement.

I heard movement and I shot into a standing position. My hand grasped the end of my short sword and my eyes widened. Horror overtook me.

I wasn't the only person in this basement.

In the corner, I heard panicked breathing. I carefully put my blade away and slowly approached the small figure.

As I drew closer I could see tangled black hair and a tattered white dress. I recognized that dress. It was one of mine, when I was a child. I always wore it when picking flowers in the meadow.

"Hello," I said soothing. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

The child curled up further into the corner.

"Would you… like to go outside?" I asked, not knowing what to say.

The child glanced up and her big black eyes met mine. They seemed to be begging me.

I held out my hand to her. "Come on, now. It's okay. You don't have to be down here anymore."

She looked at my hand. I kept it in place as I crouched down to her level.

"Daddy will get angry at me," the child said. She shook with fear and her voice was hoarse.

"By Daddy… do you mean the man that lives here?" I felt sick.

She nodded and pointed at Mother. "He said he would punish me if I left Mommy all alone."

Despite everything I gave her I kind smile. "I won't let your daddy hurt you."

She looked at me disbelievingly.

"I promise. He will never hurt you again. And, we won't leave your mommy alone either. We can take her some place she will never be alone." I whispered. My eyes prickled, but I ignored the feeling.

"Is there somewhere like that? " She asked.

"Yes," I said. "I promise. Come with me. Please."

She grasped my hand and I pulled her up. She was painfully thin. She hardly had any muscles. I wondered if she could even walk on her own. I assisted her across the room, carrying most of her weight for her. I lifted her as we headed up the steps.

We exited out the back door, into the meadow. Now that we were out in the sun, I could see how pale her skin was. Did she ever go outside? She gaped at the flowers.

"Pretty." She mumbled.

"You think so? I do too." I walked over and picked a blue one. "Here." I placed the flower in her hair.

Her eyes got even bigger and she touched at it lightly.

"It looks good on you." I said with a sad smile.

She blushed and looked at the ground. "Miss?" She asked, "what's your name?"

"My name? Hmmm. I've gone by a lot of names… but, right now you can call me Jun." I placed another flower in her hair. "And what about you, what is your name?"

I dreaded the answer, already knowing it.

"Miaka."

That used to be my name when I lived there. It seemed like Father had replaced me. I bit my lip. Where had this girl come from? Was she actually Father's child, or did she have another home, elsewhere?

I glanced toward the house and then towards the village. It seemed I had more questions to ask Father, but first, and most importantly, I had to get Miaka to safety.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:**Wow, this chapter took a long time. Sorry for being so late with it! :) Enjoy!

**Chapter 21: Choices**

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

A very talkative blonde opened the door. "What?"

"Can I come in?" I asked, before casting my eyes behind me at the small, disheveled child.

Her eyes widened. "Y-yes."

I walked in, tugging Miaka behind me.

"I'm guessing there isn't an inn of any sort in this village." I stated, looking around the house. It was small and cozy.

"No."

"Then, is it okay if we stay here? I will pay, of course." I reached into my ninja pouch and pulled out a bag. "I trust this will be enough for about two weeks?" I tossed it to her.

She opened the pouch and gasped. "Yes. Are you sure? This is… quite a lot."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Where's your kitchen? This kid needs to eat something."

"Oh. This way." She motioned for us to sit at the table and got us each a glass of water. "I'm Rin, by the way."

Miaka drank greedily. I smiled lightly and pushed my glass towards her as well.

The Leaf Village was short on ninjas right now, as they always seemed to be, so there was no way they would send another Jounin out for something like escorting a little girl to the village. I guessed I would have to do it after I was done my mission.

Two large bowls of ramen were placed in front of us. I picked up my chopsticks as Miaka picked up the whole bowl. She tipped the bowl back and liquid ran down her chin.

"Whoa, there." I reached over and stopped her from dumping the contents of the bowl on her face. "Do you know how to use chopsticks?"

She shook her head.

"Here." I picked up her chopsticks and put them in her hand. "You hold them like this." I positioned her hand correctly and then picked up my own. "If you move your fingers like this, you can pick stuff up."

She attempted to pick up noodles like I showed her, her hand trembling.

"Gah!" She gasped, as they dropped back into her bowl.

I laughed a little. "It does take some getting used to, so don't worry about getting the hang of it right away."

I put my hand over hers and helped her for a little, until half of what she picked up was able to make it to her mouth. She finished her food rather quickly.

I put my chopsticks down as I finished eating.

"Rin?" I said, "Do you mind if I run the bath?"

"No, not at all. Here," she got up. "Let me get you a towel."

"Come on, Miaka." I tugged on her hand and then suddenly stopped. "Hm," I mumbled as I put a hand in her hair. It was far too matted to be able to brush it. "Rin? Could you also grab some scissors?"

Miaka looked at me innocently. "Why?"

I gave her a small grin. "I'm giving you a new look."

She looked apprehensive.

"This way, this way." I pulled her along with me into the bathroom and sat her on the edge of the tub. Rin entered and handed me a towel and some scissors.

I lifted the scissors and pulled on Miaka's first knot. "Ready?"

She gave a tiny nod and I immediately cut a chunk of her hair off. She clenched her fists.

"Don't worry. It will feel better." I cut of another mass of hair. It fell to her feet. "By the way, Miaka, how old are you?"

"I… don't know." She whispered.

Oh. I pressed my lips shut and decided to abandon the subject. We sat in the awkward silence, the snipping of the scissors the only prominent sound. Most of her hair was gone now, and it hung around her jawline. I rustled through the bathroom's cabinets until I found a brush. I began to work the knots out of her hair. Once that was done, I only had a little more trimming to do before I was done.

"Okay, okay." I smirked, a little excited. I pulled her over to a mirror. "It will look even better after it is cleaned."

She gasped a little and touched at the ends.

"Do you like it?"

She nodded.

"There you go," I handed her the bath towel and headed over to the tub. I ran the water until it was the right temperature and then filled the tub. "I'll bring you some fresh clothes when you're done." I left the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

* * *

"Rin." I said.

"Hmmm?" Her head was down on the kitchen table.

"I need to go take care of business. Would you please look after Miaka and make sure she sleeps well?" I was worried about her.

"Yes." She waved me away.

I pursed my lips and walked out the door, trying to put thoughts of Father out of my mind. I had a mission to do and it didn't seem like he would be moving for a while. For now, I had another person I had to find. His attack on Father was obviously recent. He wasn't far.

* * *

A silently placed my feet along the tree branch, inching my way forward. He was there, before me. It was truly, actually, him. I moved ever so slowly, keeping an eye on both my movements and the leaves. My movement had to be perfect. The branch was slick, from a recent rain. It made it all the more difficult to keep my balance. Small droplets of water fell from the leaves.

I was now on the same branch he was sitting on.

"You've gotten better." His dark figure stood, effortlessly balancing on the wood.

"Not good enough." I gave a small smile. I crouched down and pulled my hood off my head. "It's been a long time since I've seen you. You're getting old." I looked pointedly at him.

He chortled. "Maybe so. You've grown quite a bit, Miaka."

I huffed and turned away from him. He caught sight of my leaf headband as it glinted in the moonlight, but didn't say anything about it. I grabbed the branch and swung myself down to the ground. I landed in a squat and stayed like that with my hands on my knees.

He jumped down next to me and mimicked my posture. Faster than I could react, he hand shot out and knocked me over.

I glared in his direction and spat out dirt as he doubled over in laughter.

"Rude." I murmured under my breath.

"Who's rude now? You show up so unexpectedly and I don't even get a hug?" I couldn't tell whether or not he was serious.

"You say _I_ showed up unexpectedly." I cocked an eyebrow at him. I sat on the muddy ground, now that I was covered in filth from his antics anyway.

"Well," He paused thoughtfully, "I was planning on making this trip for quite some time." He glanced back toward the village. "I owed _that man_ something." He frowned, his face becoming troubled. "He hasn't paid enough yet for what he has done."

I bit my lip. "Mmmhmm. And the man in the other village?"

He blinked in surprise. "Oh. He owed me some money. That's why I only killed him."

I sighed, exasperated. "Well, good job. You drew the attention of the Leaf Village."

He gave me a teasing look. "Oh, is that why you're here?"

"You should get the hell out of the Land of Fire," I lazily tilted my head away from him. "Before they send someone to investigate."

"Even if they sent someone, it wouldn't matter."

"I wouldn't be so quick to say that. Some of the ninja here are pretty impressive." I looked at him darkly. "You should really watch your back."

He shrugged the comment off. "If you say so… why are you here anyway?"

I couldn't exactly tell him I was the one sent to investigate and kill him, therefore, I gave him a little smile. "Why, can't a daughter miss her father?"

He snorted, his white hair falling into his eyes as he ducked his head down. "As if, you probably just want to bum some more lessons off of me. How is your genjutsu coming along, by the way?"

I didn't answer.

"Oh, maybe you do need a little more practice then." He activated his eyes. "Come on, let's give it a go."

I looked away from his face to avoid his eyes and stuck my hand out.

"H-hey!" He fell back as I placed my fingers over his eyelids and pushed gently.

"Piss off. I'm not _that _desperate." I contemplated for a second. "If anyone seems eager about lessons, it's you."

"Perhaps."

I groaned a little. I dreaded his lessons. He could rarely take them seriously, though when he did I got my ass handed to me.

"No." I stated.

"Fine…" He complained and brushed his fair bangs out of his red eyes.

I gazed up at the sky and studied the constellations for a while. The heavy clouds in the east from the previous rain obscured some of them, annoying me. My hands began to go numb from the cold and I started to rub them together

"You are different now, aren't you?" He said.

"…yeah."

"That's good." His gaze softened as he looked in my direction. "You seem happier."

I felt my stomach turn. I suppose I was happier. Happier than I ever was. I nodded stiffly.

What would I be willing to do to keep things like they were now?

"I'm glad." He turned his head and gazed towards the stars.

I could have done it right then and there, while he wasn't looking. I could have simply of slid my kunai to his neck and slit it. The deed would have been done. But, my body wouldn't move.

Despite all rational thought, I could not kill him.

I _had _to kill him. But, I could not.

I stood, stretching my legs out.

"Going somewhere so soon?"

"Yeah, I have some unfinished business with… that man."

He chuckled and touched his chin thoughtfully. "You are my daughter, after all." He paused. "I got some of my revenge… for what that beast did to you and your mother. You deserved better. Both of you."

I bit my lip and turned my head sharply away, trying to force the pained expression off my face.

"Hey." He grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me into hug. "It's true."

I shook my head. "Maybe for Mom…"

He sounded tired. "That's not what I, or anyone but you thinks."

I winced and pushed him away. "I've got to go."

"Miaka." He pulled on my arm, stopping me. "Don't do anything you will regret."

I sighed and nodded. He released my arm. I rushed back to the village, to Rin's house to check on Miaka before I spoke to Father, my non-biological one.

It didn't take long, and I pushed open the front door to find Rin waiting in the kitchen.

She gasped when she saw me, looking at my attire. "You. Bathroom. Now." She walked forward, looking as though she was going to push me towards it before she thought better.

* * *

I ran my hand through my damp, uncombed hair. Rin placed a cup of something steaming in front of me before running to get a blanket.

"Drink," Rin ordered. "You're freezing. Christ, your lips are blue."

I brought the cup to my lips and inhaled deeply, letting the steam warm my face and my lips. It smelt like some kind of broth. I put it back down lightly as the heat started to make my fingers sting. Rin glared at me. I hesitantly grasped the cup once more.

I'm a ninja, not a child," I mumbled.

"You're both." She said softly and I glowered at her. She was just a few years older than I was, but I didn't feel like arguing with her. I didn't have the energy.

"Rin?" I whispered.

She looked at me closely, surprised at my change in tone as I stared down at the cup in my hands.

"What would you do if you had two choices, but neither of them were the right one? I don't… want to regret my decision, but at this point… it's impossible." I glanced up at her. "What would you do?"

She tapped the table thoughtfully. "I don't know. You don't really know until you have to make it, right? I mean," she bit her lip, "everyone has to make decisions they don't want to, but I'm sure when the time comes, you will know what to do. At least," she smiled, "that's what it's always like for me."

I frowned. Would I be able to make a choice? Would I complete my mission or not? Would I kill my true father or betray my village and throw away everything I worked towards for the past few years?


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Nori**

Kane glanced up at me and then scowled. "Again?" He muttered under his breath.

I gritted my teeth and sat down on my bedroll carefully. But, there was no way to escape the pain. The fresh wounds on my body hidden under various bandages hut like hell. There was no way I could lie down without putting pressure on some. I suppose they did that on purpose. My face was untouched. It would draw to much attention in public if it had scars.

Kane mumbled something when I didn't answer and rolled over to face the wall, pulling his blanket over his head to escape the cold.

I was eight years old at that time.

…

**Two Months Earlier**

"The target?" Kane said.

"Tall, about six feet. Medium build, approximately two hundred pounds. Dark hair, green eyes, tanned skin." I rattled off. "Typically dresses in moderately expensive clothing. No guards. But, Raiden expressed that we should be careful. Perhaps he has skills or connections the organization doesn't know about?"

"Hm. Got it. We will approach cautiously then." Kane didn't ask why we had to kill him. It didn't matter why. The organization ordered it and we were to carry out those orders.

I halted my running. "Do you have a plan?"

Kane sighed and jogged back to me. "We can follow our usual one for today, but we really should start thinking of another one. Mind you," his eyes glittered with a now rare laughter, "you're so small you could probably pull off being a little kid for quite a few more years."

I scowled and pulled my hood down and my hair free from my cap. I fluffed it out slightly and Kane raised his eyebrows.

"Ready?" He pulled his right arm back.

"Just be careful not to break anything."

"Yeah." His fist plowed into my cheek. I tucked my chin down, forcing my head not to whip back. It would be a problem if I got knocked out.

I didn't bother spitting the blood, instead I let it run down my chin. He hit me lighter this time. He hit me in the nose, being careful not to break it, like I asked, as always.

His hand plowed into my face again, this time on my other cheek. I fell to the ground, coughing up the blood that slid down my throat.

"Okay, that should be enough." The bastard chuckled.

"You enjoyed that didn't you, you fucker?" I placed my hand on the ground and pushed myself up, wobbling slightly on my feet. I bit back a groan, not wanting Kane to hear it. Sadistic fuck.

…

The target was here. I whipped at my lip, smudging the fresh blood a little. Kane was crouched up in the trees, ready to pounce. It was time to carry out the plan.

I gave Kane the signal and began to run towards our victim's house.

"Help!" I cried desperately, "Someone help!" I ran up to the door and pounded frantically on it with my fists. I jiggled the doorknob and shakily opened the door, stumbling in and falling to the ground.

A man of around twenty years came charging into the room, shock on his face. His green eyes focused on my swollen face.

"Please..." I begged, voice hoarse from sobbing.

He rushed forwards and knelt beside me on the floor. He pulled back slightly when he noticed my strangely white hair, but immediately reached towards me again. He brushed my locks away from my face to get a better look at those injuries.

"Who did this to you?" He lightly touched the side of my face where one of Kane's many strikes hit me.

I cringed a little. "T-there were m-men. They came out of the woods…" I hiccuped a sob. "…daddy…"

My target gave me a comforting smile and patted me on the head. "It's okay, they can't hurt you here."

I nodded numbly and let my muscles relax a little. Soon. He seemed to have let his guard down. To him, I was just a kid who was attacked and was in desperate need of protection. He was the only one able to supply me with that.

Kane and I had experimented with this plan numerous times. There were a few rules that we followed.

Number one: It had to be me who was the 'victim'. Kane couldn't do it. I don't know whether it was just because he was a bad actor or because the targets caught the sense of something cruel and sinister hiding under his angelic face, but either way they were always too doubtful of him.

Number two: we had to have a believable story that pertained to the area we were hunting in. That was a given. The injuries, also had to be believable.

Number three: We had to approach the target while they were alone. This was not only because I didn't want to be seen or recognized by the public or draw attention to myself – it would be far too suspicious when the target was found dead, or not found at all – but, if the act was put on in a crowded area, the target would be less likely to provide 'assistance'. It was probably because they expected someone else to take care of it.

Number four: I had to wait to be sure Kane was ready to back me up before my attack. We never knew what our enemies were capable of and we could face any number of dangers. We also had to keep in mind there was a _reason_ these targets were wanted dead. We didn't know whether they were a murder, a powerful ninja or just didn't pay money they owed to someone. We never knew all the information and had to be prepared for just about anything.

Number five: The assassination had to occur at close range. I couldn't risk having a normal sized weapon and the target noticing it. Therefore, the target had to let down their guard enough for me to get close and finish it.

The target turned and headed towards a nearby closet, presumably to grab a medical kit.

I slid a small, thin blade out of its unnoticeable sheathe in my sleeve and clasped it in my hand, folding the other hand over it, so it wouldn't be visible. I heard his footsteps head back in my direction and I kept my head low, looking at the floor.

He crouched and lifted my chin again. Now was my chance, as he was examining my wounds. Kane should have had enough time to move into position.

I brought my blade to his neck and in a small and effortless movement, I slashed.

He leaned back, out of my knife's range and smiled. The next thing I knew, my face was being pressed into the ground and fresh, intense pain ran up my arm. I gasped and began to struggle. He squeezed my wrist until I was forced to drop the small knife.

"Don't. Or I'll break it." He warned.

I continued to struggle, only to hear a sigh, followed by a loud cracking sound.

_Where was Kane? He was supposed to be here. Why wasn't he coming to help me?_

If he wasn't coming to help me, I would have to help myself.

I reached down with my free arm and pulled the spare knife I always carried in my shoe. Ignoring the pain the movement caused me, I stabbed it into his foot.

He yelped and stumbled backward, falling when his foot – which was now pinned to the ground – stopped him from going any farther.

I gave him a small smile as I rose to my feet, my arm hanging at my side.

"You look just like your father."

I pulled up short, despite all of my training telling me not to do so. "…what?"

The front door to the house banged open and I jumped.

Well at least I now knew where Kane was. He was thrown over a bulky shoulder, and seemingly unconscious.

As I was distracted by the commotion, the target yanked the knife from his foot and wrapped his arm around my neck. He pulled it tight, not quiet choking me, but enough that my breathing was impaired, causing my muscles to go weak.

"They sent kids like you this time…" He growled. "The organization has no –" He glanced towards the man carrying Kane. "How is that one, Takeshi?"

"Out cold, other than that, just minor injuries." The burly man shrugged, jostling Kane's body. "He put up a surprisingly good fight."

"As expected. The organization probably put in quite a good amount of time training these two." He gestured to the far wall. "Get that one secured and then help me out over here. I don't want to hurt this one any more than necessary."

_What did they want? Information? Most likely. If I let anything slip the organization would kill me. No, not just me, Kane as well._

I attempted to turn my head and bite the arm around my throat. The target grabbed my hair and pulled my head back painfully as he pressed his forearm more tightly against my windpipe.

"See what I mean." He muttered.

Takeshi was making his way over to us. I stopped struggling and tried to use the angle of my head to my advantage. If only I could make eye contact… I wasn't very good at using it, but maybe...

"Be careful not to look into her eyes." I heard a smile in the target's voice. "Or you'll have a very unpleasant experience." He paused for a second. "Actually, go get a rag from the kitchen and blind her with that."

I coughing and gasping for oxygen, my vision filled with holes. Damn it, I needed air.

A soft fabric slid over my face, obscuring any light. I barely had the energy to attempt to turn away from the rag.

"Grab her feet and tie them."

I felt a rough palm wrap around my ankle. I feebly gathered what strength I had and kicked at where I guessed Takeshi's head was. Unfortunately, it only made his job easier. He snagged my lifted leg and wrapped a rope around it.

After my legs were bound, my arms were next. I didn't struggle, and the man's hands were surprisingly gentle when dealing with my broken arm. They were secured in front of my body, saving me from a lot of agony when I was sat down on a couch.

"Do you know who I am?"

I didn't answer and clenched my teeth.

"Okay, then. My name is Nori. Care to give me yours?"

I fidgeted, the feeling in my muscles returning.

"So, Miaka, what did the organization tell you about me?"

I jerked from my slouched position upright. I hadn't heard that name for years. How did he know it?

I frowned. "Why do you know that name? Who are you?"

"A friend of your father's. He never shuts up about you." Nori laughed.

"My father?" I paled as I remembered his cruelty.

I felt a lock of my hair being lifted up. "Like I said, you look just like him."

I was very confused. "I look nothing like my father…"

"Nonsense." He mumbled. "You have his white hair, and his red eyes. An unusual combination."

"What are you talking about?" I was tired of playing his game. What exactly was he trying to accomplish? Was he trying to get me to let my guard down?

"…I suppose you've never met him, not when you were old enough to remember anyway. I'm talking about your _real_ father. Here, let me confirm something with you." He moved and touched the blindfold over my eyes. "You have an ability… to see someone's fears and use them against them."

I swallowed, remembering my mother's words before she died.

_Your eyes… are just like your father's… Promise me. You will find him._

"My father… my… real father." I whispered.

"Yes."

I mulled over that information.

"Where is he?" I demanded.

"Hmm. I'm not really sure. He sure does move around a whole lot." He lightly touched my nose and I jerked backwards, glaring under my blindfold. "Now, I may not be able to answer your questions, but if you answer some of mine, I may be able to give you a few leads I have."

I wanted those leads desperately. I had to find my father. My mother told me to, so it must have been important… important enough to be the last thing she said to me. To get those leads I had to give my own information. Potentially information that would get me killed if the organization ever found I gave it out.

I grinned. "What do you need to know?"

**Author's Note:** As you know, I've not been updating as frequently as I have in the past few months. I've just started University, so I've been very busy with getting my books and sorting out my classes and all that expensive stuff. Hopefully, after this next week I will be settled in enough to write more frequently. I will try to upload a new chapter every week (hopefully more sometimes). I do have a two hour break between most of my class (I'm on one as I'm writing this note) and may have my computer with me, so I will try to get some done then.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: **Enjoy! Please review! Seeing feedback makes my day!

**Chapter 23: Infiltration **

"What do you need to know?"

"First, how about I take care of those injuries?" I heard him shift to get the medical kit.

"Don't," I warned, "it's already obvious I'm going to fail this mission. It would only be more suspicious if I went back with my wounds all fixed up." I bit my lip. I've seen what happens to people when they fail their mission. I was in for a whole lot of pain.

"Hmm. Who said you were going back?"

"I did."

He laughed. "It's actually within my plan as well."

His _plan._ My stomach flipped. At least I was sure I was getting out of this alive, so long as I followed his instructions.

"What exactly did they tell you about me?" He said, his eyes fierce.

"Next to nothing. Your description and your location and that we had to exterminate you. That is all. We are not supposed to ask any questions." I learned that rather quickly.

He paused thoughtfully. "What location are you situated in?"

"The one in the fire nation, near the border to the sand." Why was that important?

I heard him exhale and murmur under his breathe, "Lucky. That makes things much easier."

"What do you mean?" What was easier?

"I need you to do something for me. It will be very dangerous. But, in exchange, I will not only give you leads to your father, I will also help you search for him… he may kill me for having you do this though…"

That sounded rather interesting. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to copy some records for me. Actually, two to be precise."

"Okay, but that doesn't seem too dangerous… the records are kept in the library and it is almost always empty…" Did he think I would be scared to do that because I was a kid?

"Oh no, these records will not be kept in the library, they are hidden elsewhere. They are most likely in a sealed room of some sort, somewhere where only higher-ups are allowed to go." I heard rustling and whispers being exchanged with Takeshi. "Here, let me take off the blindfold."

Light flooded by vision and I blinked hard, trying to clear it. I met Nori's green eyes.

"Well, you're not trying to torture me. That's a good start."

I gave him a wry smile and Takeshi re-entered the room, holding something delicately in his hands. I leaned forward, trying to see it. Takeshi handed it to Nori and he brought it up in front of my face.

"These are what the records look like."

The paper itself looked rather beaten and old, but on either side it was held with gold pieces indented with green spirals that glittered in the light. When Nori carefully unrolled it, I would see it was also written in gold ink, though I couldn't read what it said. It must have been in a different language. I stared at the writing, surprised by its beauty and intricacy. I wanted to reach out and touch the gold letters that rose from the paper.

I forcefully pulled my gaze away. "How can I copy it if I can't even read it?"

Nori laughed and pulled out a piece of paper and a piece of charcoal. "You shade over it."

I flushed and internally cursed. Of course.

"Be careful not to let any 'go missing'." He warned, "They would notice... eventually."

I snapped, "I know that. I'm not stupid!"

I eyed the scroll still in his hand. How did he get that one? Maybe he was speaking from experience?

"When will I be giving these copies to you?"

"Takeshi and I will be switching hideouts soon. We will be closer to the Leaf Village, so the organization will be more wary to send people like you after us." He pulled a map out of his back pocket. "Memorize this for me. The red dot is where the hideout is. Knock twice, and then three times so we can deactivate the trap at the door."

He began to work on the knots tying my feet.

"What are you trying to accomplish by getting these scrolls?" If I had to wager a guess, they probably had some relevance to why the organization wanted him dead.

"For now, that's a secret. Maybe, someday, I'll tell you." He grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Hell, if I trust you enough, I might even show you what they say."

He finished untying my hands and I brought them in front of my body, cradling my broken arm.

"Well, Takeshi, I guess we should be going." He turned.

"Wait." I ordered, "Don't you have something left to tell me?" I glowered at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahaha… right."

"All I know is that he was last seen in the Sand and was reported to be heading towards the land of Earth."

I scowled. That information wasn't good at all. I could do next to nothing with it. "You had better hold out on your second part of our deal."

He looked amused. "Right, right."

"One more thing… knock me out." I glanced towards Kane. "I can't have him getting distrustful."

Nori sighed. "If you say so."

…

I rolled up out of my bedroll. I had a mission in a week. Then would be my chance to deliver the scrolls, but first, I had to find them. I moved silently, careful not to awake Kane. It would get far more complicated if he found out what I was up to. I didn't know whether or not he would report me. I never knew what went on in that mind of his.

I slipped into the damp, brick hallway, pulling my bag closer to my chest.

I had been observing the higher-ups for the past few weeks and listened to their conversations whenever possible. I discovered there where many areas in the hideout I didn't know of, and never found due to the strict rule against wandering. However, one stood out from all of them.

I initially heard about it when I was in the torture room. It was located in the higher-ups quarters of the hideout. They didn't bother to soundproof the walls. No, they thought it would be better if the others could hear the screams of the tormented and let them serve as a warning. Consequently, I could hear a whole lot of information while in that room, all which I never listened to before. Before I had no purpose and no reason to fight through the pain and listen.

I touched the newly formed scars on my arms, these ones weren't for nothing.

One of my main problems was that the higher-up's quarters had two guards standing by the entrance at all times. They didn't want any unwelcome people to journey in. Therefore, I had to find another method of breaking into that part of the hideout.

I made my way to the shower area and grinned, placing my bag beside the shower. I shivered as I stripped down to a tight tank top and a pair of shorts. I would probably have to discard them later. With me, I took a spare towel and a small tool kit.

Next, I went towards the toilet. I was not looking forward to this part. I held my breath as I heard water rushing below. The hideout was built over a natural underground river, which conveniently removed any waste.

I tied a rope to a thicker part of the toilet and pulled on it, testing my weight. I glared down the hole, really wishing there was a better way to do this.

Then, I slowly lowered myself into the foul darkness.

It didn't take long for my bare feet to touch water. I used them to sling myself a little until they touched mud, or at least I hope it was mud. It probably wasn't. Either way, I had a platform to walk on. It was probably created by the river when it was higher in the spring.

I made my way forward with a visual map of the hideout in my head. I counted my steps from three weeks ago and reached up, sighing in relief when I felt cool metal. I quickly washed my feet in the river before pulling myself through the hole.

I was probably the only living person to ever go through that hole. I was back in the torture room. That hole was where they threw away those who died while they were being punished. I usually tried to not think of that possibility very much.

Not wanted to leave tracks, I dried my feet with the towel before I started moving again.

I slipped out of the torture room, thankful they didn't have a project in process. If there was, not only would I risk being noticed and reported, but the door would also be locked, preventing the victim – and I - from escaping.

Now there was the matter of actually finding the room I needed to get into. First, I needed to know the type of room I was looking for. It would most definitely have to be secure, but most rooms in this part of the hideout were.

Even the bedrooms. I paused outside of one, hearing snoring.

The records seemed very important, and very, very secretive. They would most likely be kept far away from any common pathway, even among the higher-ups.

I hesitated before heading down a dark hallway.

…

I couldn't find it. It had been hours and I had walked around so much that the layout was permanently engraved into my mind. Miraculously, I hadn't been caught, yet. However, the longer I stayed in this part of the hideout, the more likely I would be.

I stopped to think. Walking around aimlessly wouldn't get me anywhere productive. I had to think. The room was secret, how would they keep people from getting into it?

People didn't know it existed. If there was a locked room in which no one was allowed to go in, it would be suspicious. People would get to curious and they could risk what lay inside being discovered.

So, if people didn't know about the room, if they didn't know it existed… it would have to be hidden.

I pushed forward, looking at the ground. It was far more worn where people often walked on it. People couldn't be seen heading into the room, so like I thought earlier, it was probably kept off the common walkway.

I turned, heading down the darkest tunnel. There were two small rooms on my right side. Neither appeared to be locked. I strode up to one of the doors and listened closely. I heard no sound within. I peeked under the door. I saw nothing either.

I held my breath and slowly opened the door, cringing at the faint – but seemingly loud – creaking.

It peered inside before entering and softly closing the door behind me. It looked to be an unused storage room. Nothing interesting, if someone were to get curious and look inside, they would see nothing unusual and nothing that would spark an interest, evoking further investigation. That was why it was perfect.

I ran my hand along the cold wall, feeling its texture. I stopped when I felt a brick move. I pushed on it harder and the tile moved back.

…and nothing happened.

I sighed. I didn't have time for this. I pushed harder, but still nothing else happened. Annoyed, I threw the entire weight of my body against the wall. I felt it shift backward.

I rubbed at my bruising shoulder before examining the wall again. Part of the wall, about the size of a doorway, was set back. It was surrounded by a metal frame, which was covered in rust. That would explain why it was so hard to open. Hopefully it would be easier to close again.

Since it would move no further back, I experimentally pulled it to either side, using where the one tile pushed back as a handle. To my relief, it rather easily moved to the right.

Dust flew in my face and I fought the reaction to cough. I reached for my tool kit, pulling out a small flashlight. I turned it on before holding it in my mouth as I glanced around the extremely small room.

In the far corner there was a small desk covered in dirt and grime. It was clear it hadn't been used for a very long time. Despite the room looking unused, there was a trail of large footsteps faintly dusted with filth. Someone had been here recently.

I stepped in the footprints, following them to a chest. I examined the latch on it before taking out my lock pick. Surprisingly, it didn't take long to open it. Lifting the lid, I saw various scrolls, the gold ones catching my eye in particular. Like Nori said, there were two of them.

I copied them as quickly and as well as I could, eager to get the job done with. I didn't need to be caught after getting this far.

I carefully put the contents back into their rightful place in the chest and backed away, stepping on the same spots I had previously.

I whipped away the dust, keeping the shape of the footprint and erasing my tracks. I sprinkled the dust I took off, above the footprint, letting it be partially recovered. I repeated this procedure until I reached the door.

As soon as I managed to close it, I was heading back to the shower room. Then, all I had to do was clean up and make my way back to my room.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:** I initially planned this flashback to last for only one chapter. Haha… look what happened. After this chapter we will be back to the present!

**Chapter 24: Possibilities**

The copied scrolls felt unnaturally heavy in my bag. Kane and I were on our way back to the hideout from our mission. At the moment, we were close enough to where Nori was located that it would only take an hour to get there. As soon as we finished setting up camp for the night and Kane fell asleep, I would be heading off.

Looking exhausted, Kane plopped down on his bedroll and turned his back to me without saying anything. Hopefully he wouldn't wake up while I was gone.

I treaded carefully away from the camp, careful not to wake Kane up. Once I was far enough away, I broke into an all-out sprint.

Even with my vigorous training over the years, when I reached Nori's location, I was gasping for breath and dreading having to repeat the process on my way back.

I scowled and scanned the area. He told me to knock, so there had to be a door of some sort, yet there was no noticeable buildings in the area. That left the ground. A trapdoor perhaps?

I wouldn't have seen it if I wasn't looking for it. The door was camouflaged in grass and other plants that surrounded it.

I knocked as was specified and waited, hearing plenty of movement on the other side. Takeshi opened the door slowly before gesturing for me to go inside. I followed him down into the dark tunnel which was only illuminated by the lantern he was holding.

Nori was waiting in an equally dark room, sitting on a small wooden chair, before a circular table where another lantern was placed. The dim light revealed a heavily bandaged leg, which made me raise my eyebrows, but not question it.

"So?" His voice sounded tired.

I slid off my pack and dug around until I pulled both of the copied scrolls out.

Nori's expression brightened significantly. "You got both of them?"

I handed them to him and he hastily unrolled them, careful not to smudge the charcoal. He appeared to read them before placing both of them on the table. "And my father…?"

He rubbed his hands together, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Right… about that…"

I felt a chill run up my spine as I realized my situation. Who was to say he wouldn't kill me? He could have simply used me to get what he needed. Now, he could easily kill me, since he didn't need me anymore. Why would he keep his part of the deal? It gave no benefit to him. No, it would simply be easier to kill me, someone who knew far too much information for their own good. And yet, even what I knew was next to nothing.

I tensed and prepared to flee. I had no chance, but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

"It seems the organization trained you, but not well enough. I'm guessing you are only realizing now how stupid your decision to do what I asked of you was… that you would have been much better off if you returned to the organization and never saw me again. You should be mindful of your own weaknesses, especially how you display them." His eyes turned cold. "It was extremely apparent how much you wanted to meet your father, and I used that – used you."

I swallowed and fought the panic rising in my chest.

"Treat this as a lesson, and try to be a little more intelligent when dealing with a situation like this next time, for your father's sake? Though I have to admit, your idiocy worked rather well in my favor." He chuckled, his playfulness returning. "I stuck to our deal. Oh, actually I did even better than I promised, I found him."

"I – What?" My head was spinning.

"I found him. I told him a little about you and where you are. Expect a visit from him soon." Nori clapped his hands together, "Well then, for now, we are done."

For now? I clenched my teeth. So, he still did have a use for me. That was probably why he one-upped his promise… so that I would owe him in the future. This wasn't going to be the last time he was using me.

I wondered if he was using my father as well. He said my father often talked about me, and he didn't injure me too bad when we met each other… if he found my father and told him that he found me and gave him that information in exchange for a favour…

The way Nori spoke of him, my father was very powerful, he would obviously want him as an ally. It was extremely likely Nori wanted something from him and had finally found the means to get what he wanted through me.

Just what was this man planning?

I gave him a cold look before turning on my heel and leaving the room, hearing his voice call out.

"May we meet again in the future."

* * *

Kane glanced up at me and then scowled. "Again?" He muttered under his breath.

Yes, again. It was the second time they punished me this month. I was back late from one of my solo missions. They had just started to trust me with them, too. I wondered if I was getting anymore soon.

I gritted my teeth and sat down on my bedroll carefully.

Last time it was because they caught me heading toward the shower room late at night. They suspected me, but I told them I simply woke up and decided to take a shower to get my day started, the same excuse I planned when going to get the scrolls. They decided after not getting another answer out of me during interrogation that I must have been telling the truth.

That was actually my second attempt to travel outside of the compound. Using the underground river, I could reach the surface and go to meet with my father. The first attempt was successful, thankfully. I was able to see my father for the second time.

The first time I met him, I was rather disappointed. I didn't know what I expected… for him to tell me that it was all alright? For a hug? For some words of encouragement, maybe? For an apology? I got none of those things.

He approached me while I was on a mission with Kane, mercifully while I was not with him. All he did was blather on about how I reminded him of my mother and how much he missed her. When I tried to stab him he said that reminded him of her too.

Though he did seem useful for something, and that was teaching me how to properly control my eye technique. He offered to teach me when he could. This often involved him coming to me after I was done my missions, which in this case, made me come back far too late for the organization's liking, or I would risk sneaking out of the hideout at night to meet and train with him nearby.

To me, he was a teacher, and nothing else. Though, at some point – I'm not exactly sure when the changed happened – I began to actually think of him as my father, more so than the man who raised me.

Maybe it was the way he spoke to me. He was kind, far more kind than I was used to, but he was blatantly honest and didn't hide anything. If I wanted to know something, all I would have to do was ask. But asking was risky, sometimes he would go on for hours and not let me escape. Afterwards he would apologize in a panic, forcing me to tell him that I forgave him to actually get him to shut up so I could leave.

Though I would prefer to spend our time together training, he almost always went off on a tangent, telling me about his likes and dislikes and about himself. He would also ask me about myself, but I was reluctant to give out information so easily. It seemed to me like he was trying to make up for the lost time.

He said he regretted the way things had gone for my mother and me, and that he should have been there to protect us. This made me angry and I told him regret wouldn't do any good. What was done, was done and there was no way he would be able to do anything about it.

Yet, he kept telling me he would make it up to me. He said he would help me right now. He told me he would give me the power to stand alone and escape the organization. I had asked him then, why could he not protect me, if he truly wanted to make it up to me? He reluctantly told me that he would not be able to always protect me and that I had to find the power to do so within myself.

So, for the next two years, I trained with him. Most of the time, for 'business' reasons he remained in the land of Earth, but every couple of months he would come to the land of Fire to meet with me, always giving me new things to practice in preparation for our next training session.

Most of the time, I did this without the organization suspecting anything, however when I did get caught, it resulted in torture sessio ns, releasing me when they didn't get any information out of me.

It was horrible, but I endured it in the hope that I would never have to be part of the organization ever again. That was one of the few things that kept me going.

Eventually, through practice and diligence, I was able to be free two years later.

* * *

It was the last time I used the passage to the river. I had my bag packed, taking what I could.

I was doing my best to act normally in the weeks leading up to my escape. I hid it from most, but I think Kane sensed there was something wrong. However, he wouldn't mention it to anyone else.

Over the past few years I had finally surpassed him in combat, he would pose no threat to me.

As I left our room I glanced back at his sleeping face. I couldn't help but feel a twinge in my stomach, knowing I would be leaving him by himself.

No, he would be okay. As okay as he could be. He was not the person I used to know, he became exactly like the others in the organization. Sadistic. Violent. Uncaring. That was the person he was and nothing I could do could transform the monster he had been molded into.

Nothing could return the lives he had slowly taken, or cure the insanity he bestowed upon his victims. But, I suppose those were also things I was guilty of. They were burdens I would have to bear for the rest of my life. Unlike the organization, I could not run away from them.

When I emerged from the river passage into the forest moonlight shined on my face. I had to get a significant distance away before they started looking for me.

I traveled for the next few days, moving to the opposite side of the Fire Nation. I stopped in the first town when I decided I was in a good area. For the next two weeks I hunted there, pickpocketing and stealing, before moving to the next town. And then the next.

I had my hood pulled up and a cap to cover my hair, my most distinguishing feature. It was not only so that the townspeople could not describe me, it was also in case the organization was still looking for me. I had to obscure my identity the best I could.

Luckily, I was lanky enough to pull off being a boy, which made me much safer from the predators that roamed the streets at night.

It was not the best life, but it was far better than the one the organization offered, and I happily took it. I had a hope that someday I would create a life of my own. One where I didn't have to steal or hurt others.

I really wanted that type of life. I really did.

Was it impossible for someone like me, who lived their entire life as a murder, a thief and a liar, to ever achieve that?


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note**: Here we are, back in present time.

**Chapter 25: To Kill**

I strode down the trail. Back towards _that_ house. I snuck in this time, not being noticed. I paused outside of Father's door, hearing his steady breathing as he slept. I shook my head. There was something I wanted to take care of first.

The basement steps creaked under my weight as I descended. I expected it to be easier the second time I came back. I was wrong. I felt nauseated, light-headed and my heart raced in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to run and never come back again. I knew I couldn't do that. I would never forgive myself.

I sat beside Mother and closed my eyes, breathing deeply.

"I wish… I could have known you longer. The love you gave me and the way you protected me are things I will carry for the rest of my life. I guess, I just wanted to thank you for that." A sob burst out of my chest. I fisted my hands in my shirt, over my heart, feeling a throbbing pain. "I wish things didn't have to be like they are. Mom… how am I supposed to make the choice I have to? What do I do? What the fuck do I do?"

I let out a shaky sigh. I wondered what she would say if she was still here.

I didn't know. I didn't know what she would say. I could no longer remember her. The only thing I could remember about her was from that day and her face as she took her last breath and bare snippets of her life. I didn't know if she sang to me or if she tucked me in at night. I didn't remember any of that.

But she loved me, she had to of, because of the way she acted that day.

I could not leave her in the basement. I hastily pulled out a large burlap Rin gave me.

I reached out to grasp her arm – to fold it over her chest – and it came free from her skeleton. The small bones from her hand hit the floor and scattered.

I paused before gently placing the bone in my hand into the bag.

It spent the next while slowly placing her bones in the bag. I put the skull in last. I took one last look at it before I tied the bag up and hoisted it over my shoulder.

I buried her behind the house, in the meadow. It was beautiful there. I thought she would have liked it.

Hopefully it would give Miaka, and myself some peace.

I wanted to speak with Father, but at that moment I was too emotionally exhausted to do anything other than sleep. I trudged back into town, desperate for some rest.

* * *

I felt like I was floating. I opened my eyes and gazed at the cloud filled sky. I could see the sun on the horizon, dying the clouds various versions of purple, pink and orange. The stars would be out soon and I now glared at the pretty clouds in disgust. I wanted to see my stars.

_Get out of the way._

The clouds moved on my command, leaving me befuddled. They retreated to the horizon and covered the sun. It was dark. Almost pitch black, only the dim lights in the sky offering any source of light.

I squinted my eyes at them. Was it just me, or were they getting smaller?

I was greeted by a new sensation. I wasn't floating. I was falling.

I reached out my hand towards them. Please, don't let me be all alone in the dark…

I felt pressure on my hand and I jerked to a sudden stop.

What? Who –

Sakura smiled down at me, her face luminous in the dark. I felt my feet be planted on something hard and sturdy. I glanced down and saw a platform made of sand. Gaara stood of to the side, expression unreadable as always.

I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness and calmness. I felt comfortable.

As long as I had my friends, I needed nothing else. The stars and the sky were not my only companions anymore. When I looked at them, I no longer did it in loneliness, but in fondness instead.

I grinned at them. Look at me now. I am not the same person I used to be. Now, I have friends, and a life I am proud of.

Looking up at the sky, I saw something. There was something else falling.

What was it?

As it got closer, I saw white hair stark against a dark background.

My father. My true father. He was falling towards the edge of the sand platform.

I began to run towards the cliff, but I felt something pull me back. Sakura. She was still clasping my hand. I pulled, but she would not budge. She stared at me with sad eyes.

My father was coming close. If I didn't hurry –

I harshly yanked my arm from Sakura's grasp and sprinted for him.

I was there. At the edge. So close. I was going to miss him.

I lunged and grasped at his shirt with the tips of his fingers. He was so heavy. I couldn't hold him for long.

Sakura. Why wasn't she helping me? I glared in her direction, searching for an answer. She glared heavily back.

"Traitor!" She snarled.

"Sakura… no… please… help me." I gasped out.

She shook her head and her body exploded into darkness. It was like smoke, the way it curled and twisted before dissipating into nothing. I looked toward Gaara for help. He simply shook his head, disappearing as well, his sand going with him.

I was falling. I could no longer see the stars. It was dark. So dark.

My father turned to look at me, his face contorted. "So, do you regret your decision?"

I screamed.

* * *

I awoke covered in sweat. I groaned and threw my blanket off of me, welcoming the cool night air. I pressed my face into the pillow.

When it came down to it, the choice was either him or my friends. Which was I willing to betray?

No matter which choice I made, I would regret my decision.

I didn't want to lose the life I made for myself. So then there was only one answer, wasn't there? I was just avoiding it, dreading the inevitable.

I was going to kill my father.

* * *

"Where are you going, sis?" I small head peaked around the doorframe to the living room.

I froze, taken aback. "Sis?"

Miaka fussed with the end of her shirt, blushing heavily. "I – um – well, I…"

I dumped the last kunai in my pouch and closed it. Grinning, I pulled her into a hug.

"You can call me that if you want, I don't mind."

She gave me a genuine smile and repeated her question. "Where are you going, sis?"

"To take care of some business. Hopefully it won't take long. When I get back we can go." I patted her head, smoothing out her wild hair.

"Go? Where?" She looked puzzled.

"To my home. It will be your home too… if you want it to be…" What if she didn't want that?

Her face was unexpectedly bright. "You mean it!? I can stay with you!?"

She looked so ridiculous I just had to laugh. "Of course."

"Now," I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. "I'm sure Rin has breakfast ready. Why don't you go get some?"

She slowly nodded. "Will you get some too?"

I shook my head. "Sorry. I need to go right now, so I don't have any time." I lied. There was no way I could stomach any food.

* * *

I stumbled into the broken down house. I groaned a little and held my head, palms grasping at my wet cheeks. When had I started crying? I pulled back my hands, dry flakes of red, freshly moistened were now smudged. On my hands, on my face.

I heard movement and my reckless, predatory side awakened, stalking towards the sound. There he was. I wondered… how did he see me? Was the me he saw now, the monster he had seen in me so many years before? Did he somehow possibly see my future of blood and horror? Is that why he tried to end it all for me?

His eyes. I loved that look. A look of pure horror. Yes, he saw the true me. The one I hid from sight under my smile and my dark clothes. He saw what I pretended wasn't there. He saw a monster. He saw a vicious monster filled with hate to the brim and a lust for violence, destruction, pain and death.

I brought him to the meadow again. I trapped him there with my own mind. There was no escape for him.

"Do you like it?" I sang, throwing my arms out the sides. "It goes on forever!"

He shook in terror and with his trembling legs he launched into a run.

"Didn't you hear me?" I called. "It goes on forever… and that means – "

I appeared in front of him and threw him to the ground. "There is no where you can run to."

He screamed and I laughed, enjoying the sound. "Tell me, Father… _How would you like to die?_"

He shook his head.

"Oh? Alright then. I suppose you want me to choose for you…" I clenched my hand.

Nothing happened.

Why?

I let the illusion fall and suddenly we were back in the house. I pulled my sword out and attempted to bring it to his throat.

It never reached.

Why? "_Why can't I kill you!" _I screamed. I fell to my knees with a sob. Why?

I've killed so many. I've killed those close to me. I killed my mentor, Raiden. I killed my true father. Why couldn't I kill this man? This man who had tormented me so much. It all began with him. All the pain, all the torment I had been through. It all started with him. Out of all of them, he was the one I wanted to hurt. Yet I did the opposite.

Was it because I still carried fond memories of him? No. I was a lot happier with my real father and I killed him.

This man was the only father, no matter how twisted he was, I had left. For what he did to me and for what he did to Miaka… I felt he deserved it. But, I couldn't do it.

I stayed on the ground, feeling ultimately defeated before I remembered the actual purpose I had in going there.

* * *

"Jun?" A voice whispered, bring me back. "Hey, Jun?"

What was I doing? I looked down at my hands and the stained water. Bloody prints were made on the side of the sink where I had gripped it. That was right. I had to clean up. I didn't want Miaka to see me like this.

"Tell Miaka to get ready. There's something I have to show her."

Rin hesitantly nodded and left.

* * *

I gently pulled Miaka by her hand. I saw fear in her eyes when the house came into view, but I calmed her.

"We won't go inside." I pulled her alongside it, back into the meadow. Before us was Mother's grave.

Miaka looked confused.

I smiled. "You think _she_ would like it here, with all the flowers?"

Miaka didn't answer.

"You don't have to worry about her being alone." I placed my hand on my chest. "Here, she will always be with me."

She did the same. "Me too?"

"Only if you want her to be."

She smiled. "Thank you." She pulled something out of her pocket. It was one of the flowers I put in her hair before. It was wilting, dying, but none the less vibrant. She dug a small hole in the earth with her hands and buried the flower. "Good bye, Mama."

After being forced to be with her corpse for so long, I wondered if she would ever be truly free of her and the haunting memories that came with. At least, this was something of a beginning for her.

When I questioned Father about her origin I didn't get much of an answer. Mostly because he didn't seem to know. He had picked her up off the street. I had no idea if she had any family left or anything from a previous, forgotten life she could go back to.

In a way, she was now how I used to be. Lost, and without a home. I hoped I could help her find somewhere she could belong.

I knew how important a home, and the friends there could be. I knew how much I sacrificed for it.

How hypocritical of me, to so desperately want to find her a home, when I didn't even know whether or not I made the right choice of keeping my place in mine.

**Aut****hor's**** Note:** Hopefully this chapter wasn't too confusing. Message me if you have any questions or concerns.


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